The Soul Embodiment Arc
by Ms. Blueberry Muffin
Summary: After performing the Final Getsuga Tenshou, Ichigo seemingly lost all his reiryoku. But when the Quincy offer him a way to restore his powers, he must decide which side of the upcoming war to fight on. Should he get his powers back by joining the Wandenreich, or watch helplessly as his friends fight for their lives? Possible pairings
1. The New Beginning

**Karakura Town: Thursday, May 8, 3:30 p.m. **

Kurosaki Ichigo stretched in Karakura High School's field in his new soccer uniform. He had just accepted joining the soccer team as their goalkeeper for a pretty hefty pay, so he waited outside until practice started.

Ever since he had returned to school seventeen months ago, sports teams all over the school came begging to him to get his help to win their tournaments. Ichigo had never really played sports, but he was still very athletic.

Why?

Kurosaki Ichigo was an ex-substitute shinigami.

"Huh?! What happened to basketball?"

Ichigo turned his head towards Tatsuki, who held her bag behind her shoulder. "My job with them ended last week. What about your club?"

"I have a part-time job. Didn't I tell you? I started working as an assistant instructor at the dojo last week,"

Ichigo made a face and hunched over. "You, an assistant instructor? Good thing I stopped going there. I'd hate to have to call you sensei,"

"_How about I force you to call me that now..?" _ Tatsuki threatened.

Ichigo backed away slightly, afraid of what the _shodan_ black belt could do to him.

"KUROSAKI-KUUUUN! TATSUKI-CHAAAAN!"

For now, Ichigo was saved by Inoue's loud greeting. She hung out the school's window pretty far and, to their surprise, slid down the pole from the second story window. When she reached the bottom, she ran towards them, only to be karate-chopped in the head by Tatsuki.

"Ow!"

"That's what you get! Next time you do something that dangerous, I'll hit you even harder!" Tatsuki's fist shook in anger.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Calm down. She didn't get hurt, after all,"

Orihime's head whipped back and forth as Ichigo and Tatsuki argued. She saw Tatsuki grab his shirt front, as if preparing to punch his lights out.

Orihime glanced up at the sky and quietly gasped when she saw the top of the nearest light post. She waved excitedly until the person perched on top of it waved back with a smile of their own.

"What is it, Orihime?" Tatsuki looked in the same direction as her, and grinned when she saw who it was.

"Who is it?" Ichigo asked, staring at the fist still gripping his shirt front. He wanted to look nonchalant, but really, he was extremely curious about which of the shinigami the two girls were waving to.

Tatsuki looked back at Ichigo. "Just a shinigami,"

"Tch. Whatever," Ichigo expected that answer. Whenever his friends or family saw a shinigami, they would never tell him who it was. It bugged him. "Would you let go of me already?"

Tatsuki forcefully shoved him down. "I just remembered that I'm wasting my time. I have work to be at,"

"Hmm?" Orihime seemed a little confused, but then she remembered that she, too, had a job. "Oh! Bye, Kurosaki-kun, Tatsuki-chan!"

"See ya,"

"Later,"

The two girls ran their separate ways, leaving Ichigo alone on the field. He just stood there for a moment before he resumed stretching.

"Hey, Kurosaki-senpai!" The soccer club vice-president called to Ichigo.

"Coming!" He called back. He cracked his knuckles and looked up at the light post. He tried to imagine one of his shinigami nakama or Imoyama-san up there, watching over the town for him. No matter how hard he tried, the image wouldn't come to him. With a frown, he looked away and ran to the soccer field.

～～～～～ 魂の実施形態 ～～～～～

The gentle spring breeze brushed Kuchiki Rukia's hair, making it flutter all around her face. She was standing lightly on the post, watching her three nakama on the green field down below.

She kept telling herself not to waste her time like this. Seireitei was experiencing a very peaceful period and had been since the arrest of Aizen Sousuke. But also since that time two Novembers ago, Rukia had lost some of what made her happy all the time. Sure, she was safe after the Winter War. And sure, she was thirteenth division's new fukutaicho, no longer an outcast in the Gotei-thirteen. But in the aftermath of the war, she had lost one of her closest nakama.

Constantly, she would ask Ukitake-taicho if she could use the senkaimon to visit the world of the living. Any of the other captains (except maybe Kyoraku-taicho) would've said no if their fukutaicho's had asked for no reason at all, but Ukitake-taicho must've understood Rukia's feelings. He agreed as long as she got her work done. She was always done before mid-morning.

Rukia saw Orihime wave at her from below. She quickly waved back, glad that most of her human nakama could see her still. Occasionally, she would talk with them, but today, she wasn't in the mood.

She waved to Tatsuki as well. She watched Ichigo, hoping he would finally look up, but he didn't. Rukia sighed.

Not long after the Winter War had ended, she had talked with so me of them.

_ "Kuchiki-san... will you ever visit Kurosaki-kun?" _

_ Rukia had looked out at the horizon. "If you guys don't mind, could you not tell Ichigo about me coming here?"_

_ Orihime cocked her head in confusion. "Why not, Kuchiki-san?"_

_ "Ichigo can't see me anyway. I don't want to see him upset if you all can and he can't. I guess... he doesn't need to know that I'm here,"_

Rukia was glad they all had kept their promise. Even though she didn't like the look in his eyes now, it would kill her to see how upset he'd be if he was sure she was right there, but no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to see her himself.

Rukia thought about using a gigai from Urahara Shoten, but she could never bring herself to do it. She didn't know what she would say.

From atop the light post, she watched the soccer practice. During her time in the world of the living, she had played soccer once. It looked interesting, but the rules to the game still confused her. She hadn't understood why Ichigo yelled at her every time she threw the ball into the goal or kicked people's shins to get them out of the way. She wanted to watch closely this time so she could try to play right next time.

She mentally hit herself on the head. And when would "next time" be? Probably never.

The familiar beeping of her _denreishinki_ brought her out of her senses. It was a message from her captain, requesting her assistance in a captain and lieutenant's meeting in Seireitei. Rukia sighed and answered that she was on her way. She turned and opened the senkaimon, stepping through without looking back at the ground.

～～～～～ 魂の実施形態 ～～～～～

"Division 6's Kuchiki-taicho and Abarai-fukutaicho have reported to me suspicious hollow activity in the world of the living. They seemed to be able to mask their reiatsu, thus being able to devour more human souls," Yamamoto-soutaicho reported in his booming voice.

All the captains and lieutenants stood lined up, standing straight and tall. Rukia felt proud to be let in the meeting, because often, fukutaicho's had to wait outside. She glanced at the place where her brother and Renji would be, but they were still investigating the strange hollows.

The captain-commander continued. "I want you to tell your subordinates about this, because the hollows are going to be far more fatal. Don't let single shinigami go out alone, and constantly be on the lookout,"

"If I may, Yama-jii, how are the hollows able to cloak their reiatsu?" Kyoraku-taicho asked, not even bothering to address the captain-commander respectfully.

Yamamoto-soutaicho shook his head. "That is what Kuchiki-taicho and Abarai-fukutaicho are investigating. We have only seen hollows like these once before, but they revealed their presence when attacking. These hollows are not,"

Rukia remembered when Renji told her the story of when his, Kira's, and Hinamori's class took a trip to the world of the living to perform konso, but they had been attacked by a large number of huge hollows that could cloak their reiatsu. Two sixth years had been killed, but then Aizen and Ichimaru had shown up.

She felt angry. That was before everyone knew Aizen's plans, when everyone thought he was just the humble captain of the 5th division, a man to admire and respect. Because of Aizen, two of the three elite students had been mortally injured in the Winter War.

Rukia glanced at the third and fifth division spots, where Kira-fukutaicho and Hinamori-fukutaicho stood next to their captains, looking a little troubled.

Ukitake-taicho raised his hand slightly. "Do we want to send more parties out to investigate the attacks?"

The soutaicho shook his head. "Not until we know more about them. We must all just stay on alert," He looked around at all the hard faces of the captains and lieutenants standing in front of him. He banged his stick on the ground with his one, strong hand. "This meeting is over. You are dismissed!"

～～～～～ 魂の実施形態 ～～～～～

Ichigo was walking the same streets he did every day to and from school. He hadn't found being the goalkeeper very much fun, but he supposed it was worth it with the pay he was getting.

He thought about the future he was setting himself up for. Ever since he became a regular, human teenage boy again, he had started saving up money. He figured he might as well do something in the medical field when he got out of high school, since it was the only career he had at least a vague understanding of. It felt weird to him, thinking about college and jobs. He had never asked to be a shinigami, but he never thought it would be taken away from him. He'd risked his life constantly. Heck, he even _died _once. But now that there were no wars to fight, no friends to protect, Ichigo was... What was he?

Right. _BORED. _

_I guess you never know what you have until you lose it. _

That sure was the case now.

Ichigo suddenly stopped. He had heard something behind him, but when he turned around, the street was empty except for the occasional passing car. The sun had started to set, so long shadows stretched across the sidewalks, making it harder to see far away.

He decided to let it go and keep walking. He didn't live very close to the school, and he was still about half a mile away from it.

The rest of the way home, he didn't hear anything again.

～～～～～ 魂の実施形態 ～～～～～

"Onii-chan, how was school today?"

The family of four sat around the table, and for once, it was completely silent. This wasn't unusual if Isshin wasn't around, but when he was, he never stopped making obnoxious remarks about his kid's personal lives.

Ichigo picked at his dinner. "Normal," He said roughly.

Yuzu glared at him. "Onii-chan, you've been acting really grumpy lately,"

"He misses Rukia," There was that obnoxious remark.

Ichigo grit his teeth. "Says who?"

"Your face," Isshin said. He started hugging the large portrait of his deceased wife and cried, "Oh, Masaki! Our son has grown up so fast! Soon enough, he'll be gone and having children of his own-"

Karin hit him over the head. "Will you shut up?!"

Ichigo stood. "I'm done," He left his half-eaten dinner and walked upstairs to his room.

Yuzu stared after him. "I knew it. There is something bothering him,"

Karin put more rice in her mouth. "You know Ichi-nii. He won't tell you anything,"

～～～～～ 魂の実施形態 ～～～～～

It was already past midnight, but Ichigo couldn't sleep. He lay on top of his covers with his arms crossed behind his head, staring out the window.

He didn't know how many more days like this would go by, but he hoped something interesting would happen in his new life. Ichigo tried shutting his eyes, but he couldn't. Instead, he focused on the full moon. It seemed larger than usual tonight, or maybe closer. For a moment, it made him think of Rukia, but he pushed that thought away as quickly as it had come.

He hated thinking about his old life, because he knew he couldn't get it back.

Ichigo rolled onto his side, facing away from the window. Maybe then he'd be able to sleep.

The familiar feeling of near-death came upon him. It was the same feeling he'd felt when he'd dodged a would-be fatal stroke of the enemy's sword in battle. He quickly sat up. He could feel someone's eyes on the back of his head.

He turned around a little too late. Something sharp and heavy struck his back. He grunted, falling forward onto the floor.

"That was easier than I thought it'd be," A cold voice dripped into the room.

Pain exploded inside him. He knew it was an arrow that struck him, but when he reached back to pull it out, there was nothing there. Struggling, he turned his head to look at the man standing on his bed.

"Who are you?"

The man had light reddish-brown hair that peaked up on the sides of his head. He was dressed all in white, including his long trench coat. What shocked Ichigo was the small mask over his left eye.

A hollow mask.

But how? Ichigo had lost all his reiryoku. There was no way he could see an Arrancar. So what was this guy? He thought about what had hit him. It didn't feel anything like a sword. It had a point that sunk directly into him, like an arrow.

Arrancars didn't fight with bows and arrows. _Quincies _did.

Ichigo knit his eyebrows together even more. "Are you a Quincy?"

The man stepped down from the bed and stood in front of Ichigo. It hurt, but Ichigo craned his neck to look up at the guy. With his hands behind his back, the man started to speak in his cold voice.

"I'm Ivan Azgiaro, and yes, I suppose I'm a Quincy. But I must say I'm a little surprised you figured that out. I was told you were a bit dense,"

Ichigo grit his teeth as the pain intensified, his vision blurring slightly. "Who told you that?"

Azgiaro chuckled. "That's not important. What does matter is what I came here to ask you," He crouched down to Ichigo's eye level and got really close to Ichigo's own face. Azgiaro smiled, in an unfriendly way. "How would you like to join Quincies?"


	2. Loss of the Protector

So... gmail decided to put all my fanfiction notifications in spam for some unknown reason, which is why it took awhile for me to reply to anything (sorry :P it's all google's fault)

THANK YOU to _Bunny153539, RachetM, princesslolitatheorca654, EquinePianist, BlackRedWhite, Iamsomeone22, FlourTheCat, Phantom Claire, blueorgray1236, cheeseboy1400, CruxisRemnants, joelder253, _and _sami217_! I love so many of those usernames.

Okay, so I forgot a disclaimer last chapter, but here it is, for the ENTIRE fanfic: **I do not own Bleach. Kubo-sensei does. Bleach is amazing.**

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

Rukia had been anxious ever since the meeting had ended. It was the late in the night, but she had been pacing the hallways of the 13th company. She didn't know why, but she felt really afraid of the new hollows. If her brother and Renji couldn't feel their reiatsu, how would they avoid confrontation? How would that affect a possible fight?

"Kuchiki,"

Rukia turned around to see her captain heading down the hallway towards her, accompanied by the two third seats.

"Yes, taicho?"

"I want you to leave,"

Rukia blinked once, twice. Ukitake looked serious. "Taicho...?"

"Take a break. I can tell something's been stressing you out lately," Ukitake smiled gently, relieving Rukia's worries. He was right, as usual. She felt the need to go to the world of the living, to try to feel her brother's reiatsu. She thought it might comfort her. She opened her mouth to ask Ukitake about it, but he answered for her.

"Take Kiyone or Sentarou with you if you're going to the world of the living. We have to consider the threat of the reiatsu-masking hollows,"

"Th.. thank you, taicho," Rukia beamed.

He nodded and ruffled her hair. "Try to figure out what's bothering you, please," He walked off, his haori fluttering behind him.

Sentarou grabbed Rukia's arm. "I'll go with you, Kuchiki-fukutaicho! I'll be there to watch your back!"

"No!" Kiyone pulled on Rukia's other arm. "I'll assist you! I can watch your back better than he can!"

Rukia sighed helplessly as the two overexcited third seats pulled her back and forth, shouting about who was the better shinigami. Eventually, Rukia pulled free.

"I thank you both for your willingness to assist me. I wouldn't mind if you both came, because it would probably be safer-"

"I promise I won't let you down, fukutaicho! Not like Sentarou, I won't!"

"WHAT?"

Rukia rested her head in her palm with another exasperated sigh. This was going to be fun.

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"What do you mean, join the Quincies?"

Ichigo had broken into a sweat. The Quincy arrow seemed to be taking a big toll on him. He knew they were for eradicating hollows, but he didn't know they could do the same for human. He decided that's what the pain was. The arrow was breaking apart his soul. But how, and why?

He also didn't know why this Quincy-Arrancar would be asking him to join them. In what? What would they want a human teenage guy for in their little Quincy group? He certainly wasn't going to be much of a help, being completely powerless.

Azgiaro leaned back. "We're about to be in a war. And in war, you need as many allies as you can get. That's why the leader of the Quincies sent me here to recruit you to the Wandenreich, the Quincy military,"

Ichigo struggled. "Sorry, but I don't think that's going to work. Your arrow seems to be killing me,"

Azgiaro gave Ichigo a serious look. "You probably know this, but Quincies shoot arrows made of pure reishi. That's what I shot you with: pure reishi,"

"Why?" Ichigo doubled over.

"We know that you lost your reiryoku when you used your final Getsuga Tenshou in the Winter War. So I'm replacing that reiryoku. Besides, being who you are, you should absorb it no problem. In fact, reishi should _make you stronger_,"

"What are you talking about?"

The Quincy-Arrancar clicked his tongue. "I guess I was wrong. You really are dense," He pulled out a charm bracelet with the Quincy cross on it. Ichigo recognized it as the same cross on Ishida's necklace. Azgiaro pulled on it, revealing a large bow, the arrow pointed straight at Ichigo's heart. "Kurosaki Ichigo, don't you know who your mother is?"

He released his two fingers, letting the bright arrow fly. Ichigo stared at it, his eyes widening. It seemed to be coming at him in slow motion. He sucked in a breath in that moment, preparing for the pain.

But there was none. Ichigo opened his eyes in shock, expecting to see some reason that the arrow had missed. He sat up, wondering if the reishi insertion had worked.

"Hmm," Azgiaro stared at him in contempt. "That didn't really work out right,"

"Huh?!" Ichigo looked down and almost cried out. His body...

"Kurosaki, you don't suppose you could jump back in or something...?" The Quincy-Arrancar looked really uncomfortable.

Ichigo stood up, his fist balled. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? Look at what you did!" He pointed angrily at his body on the ground, eyes still wide open in fear. Ichigo was so mad that he didn't really even stop to comprehend the fact that he was, currently, dead. All he was seeing was that while he was standing, his body was lying on the floor a few feet away from him, which was _not _where it should be.

"Hey, maybe you could still join us, I mean, if you can hold a bow-"

He was cut off by a hard fist to the face. "Look, Quincy guy, you keep asking me to join your 'Wandenreich' or whatever, but there's a few problems with that," Ichigo's voice became more and more annoyed with every word. "First of all, I don't even know what your war's about, or who it's against. Second, I don't fight with a bow and arrow. Never have and never will. Third, I am not a Quincy!"

Azgiaro was silent for a moment before he sighed in defeat. "Well, I thought you might want to help your relatives, but I guess not," Ichigo stared in confusion. Azgiaro stared out the window. "Hmm. The shinigami'll be coming soon. I'm sorry, Kurosaki, but since I can't have you going with them, I suppose my leader will just have to find something to do with you as a soul. I mean, it _is _still a Quincy's soul,"

"Why are you so convinced that I'm a Qui-"

_"...don't you know who your mother is?"_

His mother... no. There was no way...

"Are you finally letting it sink in, Kurosaki?"

...but then again, how much did he really learn about his mother? She died when he was still a little kid, before Ichigo knew anything about Shinigami and Quincies and hollows. Could she have really been a Quincy?

"While you think about that, I'm going to go get the other recruits," He turned to Ichigo's bedroom door, opening it.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Azgiaro didn't turn around. "Masaki had three children. At least the other two still have reiryoku,"

Karin and Yuzu. "Stay away from my sisters!" Ichigo ran at the Quincy, but Azgiaro had no trouble pushing him back. Ichigo was slammed against his wall. He sunk to the floor, watching the Quincy-Arrancar lowering his hand and turning away.

"I promise not to kill them," Azgiaro left down the hallway.

Ichigo mentally yelled at himself for being so weak. _This heavy feeling is just like the time Urahara-san severed my soul from my body in his basement. All my movements are slow... it's hard to breath... But... _He heard Yuzu yell in surprise. _...I overcame it once, so I'll do it again!_

"Yuzu! Karin!" He stood and ran as fast as his soul would let him down the hall and into their room. Karin stood in front of Yuzu protectively, but she gasped when she focused on Ichigo.

"Ichi...nii?"

"Hey, Quincy! We're not going to join you! Just leave!" Ichigo tried to hit him, but Azgiaro easily dodged.

"You're slow, Kurosaki. To be a Quincy, you have to be-," He gripped Ichigo's shirt front and threw him down the hallway forcefully. "-_fast!_"

Azgiaro walked up to Ichigo casually as he struggled to get up. The Quincy-Arrancar kicked him in the stomach, again and again. Ichigo gasped for breath and tried to get out of the way, but he was still too slow. At this rate, he realized, the Quincy guy would kill his soul as well.

Ichigo looked up with blurred vision at Karin and Yuzu, who stood in the hallway. Karin tried to run at them, but Ichigo yelled at her to stay back, not wanting her to get hurt. They were both crying.

Ichigo coughed up blood. Where was his dad? Shouldn't he have felt the Quincy-Arrancar's reiatsu and come to help? He lifted his arms to try to block some of the Quincy's hits, but it was no use.

He really felt like this was the end for him. The _actual _end. Once your soul was dead, their was no afterlife for you to go to. He was furious with himself for not being able to protect his sisters, because he was sure the Quincy would take them against their will after he was dead.

_NO_. He couldn't let that happen. He had to stop the Quincy-Arrancar, even if it killed him. Ignoring the pain and the force of the attacks, Ichigo stood and tried to push the Quincy back.

Azgiaro laughed. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki, but you're done for. I really wish this wasn't the turnout, but if the Quincy can't have you, then the shinigami definitely can't," He raised his fist.

"GO!" Ichigo yelled at his sisters. He thought of the nearest person that could fight off a Quincy. "Go to Ishida's place!" Karin and Yuzu hesitated. "HURRY!"

Karin gave Ichigo a crushed look, but through her tears, she pulled Yuzu down the stairs, who bawled in protest.

"Glad to see you still care about your sisters," Azgiaro said. "But they'll do just fine in some way in the Wandenreich,"

Ichigo closed his eyes as Azgiaro's large fist made contact with Ichigo. He felt something drain out of him as he fell to the ground, more blood staining the floor.

_Please, _He begged someone, something, anything. He raised his arms to stop the kicks, but it only caused searing pain to shoot up his forearms._ I know I'm not very strong right now, and I know I can't be the protector that I had wanted to be. _Ichigo fought to catch his breath as another hard boot slammed into him. _But please..._ _keep Yuzu and Karin safe. _The Quincy-Arrancar brought his foot back farther, aiming for Ichigo's head. He let his eyes droop closed.

_ "Sode no Shirayuki,"_

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

So, any suggestions or comments, anything I need to fix, questions...? (I love questions, :P) I also love everyone who reads this, _especially _people who give me feedback! I write to get better!

Does anyone know where to read The Honeydish Rhapsody novel online?

Also, the story probably doesn't seem so interesting so far... but hey, this is the exposition. :)


	3. Deathberry Remix

Love to: _minato0720, Darkaggie, ShinDragonX, Daedricdragon, kittyxx92, Sakura senkei, Twin Tails Speed, cooolert, FlariceFlame, _and _ValkyrieNeel._

Hope you enjoy chapter three!

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

The whole way through the the senkaimon, Sentarou and Kiyone argued. Actually, they still argued when the threesome reached Karakura Town. It was the middle of the night, so the streets below them were quiet. Still, Rukia felt like something was off.

She felt strong reiatsu in the distance, and her head turned in that direction. Could it be a hollow? It felt powerful and rough, reminding her of the Arrancars she'd battled. She strained her senses further, until she felt it. Faintly next to the stronger reiatsu was one she hadn't felt in a long time, but would recognize anywhere, no matter how miniscule it was.

Rukia gasped and shunpo-ed as fast as she could in the direction of the spiritual pressure.

Kuchiki-fukutaicho!" Kiyone and Sentarou immediately followed her, trying to catch up, but Rukia was going faster than she ever had before.

_Why can I feel his reiatsu now? What's happening? _The Kurosaki clinic came into her view as she rushed towards it. Below her, Karin and Yuzu ran out the front door.

"Rukia-chan!" Karin yelled up to her. Rukia saw that both of them were crying, and her fears worsened. "Help Ichi-nii!"

Rukia flew through his open window and landed on his bedroom floor soundlessly, right next to Ichigo's head. "Ichigo?" She grabbed his arm, but it was limp and lifeless. She panicked for a moment, but then realized she felt his reiatsu somewhere else. A voice she didn't recognize in the hallway and the sound of ragged breaths hit her eardrums; she unsheathed her zanpakuto while running towards the sounds.

"Dance, _Sode no Shirayuki_," She slashed at the man with the bloody fist, but he dodged just in time.

"Crap. I took too long," The man said, focusing on Rukia. "The shinigami showed up,"

She saw him pull out a charm bracelet and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the Quincy cross. _So a Quincy did this... _She furrowed her brows in confusion when she saw the the small mask on his left eye. _A Quincy with the appearance and spiritual pressure of an Arrancar..._

She focused her dark eyes on the man. "Don't you even think about releasing that arrow, because I will kill you before you can even pull back the string,"

"Tch," The Quincy had put on a smug smile and released his bow.

Rukia didn't even hesitate. She raised her pure white zanpakuto, upside-down. She slashed the air in front of her gracefully and drew a circle around the Quincy. "_Some no mai, Tsukishiro_," Her cold blue eyes became even colder. She was mad at the Quincy for hurting Ichigo, but she was also mad at herself for not showing up sooner. They were supposed to be connected and always be there for each other, but she had let him down during a crisis.

She grit her teeth more when she saw the Quincy quickly jump out of the way.

"Nice try, shinigami," He released his arrow, but Rukia didn't back down. Between them, the circle of ice she had drawn hardened and broke through the ceiling. The pure reishi arrow hit the ice column directly in front of her.

Rukia yelled and ran at him while his guard was down. She slashed with _Sode no Shirayuki _and managed to graze his chest. Blood dripped from the wound and tainted the tip of her zanpakuto. She struck again when the Quincy tried to draw another arrow, but he dodged and jumped down the stairs.

Rukia shunpo-ed to the first floor and appeared in front of him, startling the Quincy.

"I hate it when you guys do that," He stepped backwards into the kitchen.

"So you've dealt with us before," Rukia followed him, her zanpakuto raised.

He shot a few arrows at her. Rukia dodged one and jumped onto the counter to avoid the other. More arrows came, but, like her zanpakuto, Rukia was graceful. She swiftly avoided each one.

The Quincy growled in frustration. He looked ready to fight with his fists, but, to Rukia's surprise, he put away his bow and bowed. "It was a pleasure, Shinigami-san. I hope we meet again on the battlefield,"

"Wait-"

An inky black shadow crept from behind the curtains and swallowed the Quincy, leaving not a trace of reiatsu. Rukia was breathing heavily and she sheathed her zanpakuto in frustration.

_Battlefield?_

A hint of reiatsu hit her. "Ichigo!" Her shunpo brought her next to him. When she entered his house, she hadn't barely even glanced at him. Now, she was glad she didn't. She would've killed the Quincy for sure.

He had bruises on his face and his lip and nose were bleeding. Blood stuck in clumps in his bright orange hair. The worst part was his stomach and chest. It made her feel sick to see all the blood.

"I'm not... cut," He mumbled and cracked open his brown eyes. "That blood's... from my mouth,"

She thought she would be happy to see Ichigo after seventeen months, but seeing him like this just made her feel guilty, but also angry. "You fool!" She knelt down beside him. "Why would you try to fight someone who is clearly much stronger than you?"

Ichigo made a noise like a chuckle, but it was so deformed that it made Rukia frown even more. "Remember Aizen? Did that then. And... Ulquiorra. And-"

"I get it. You like to fight people way out of your league," Her gaze softened. "Well, I didn't expect this to be how our reunion went,"

He lowered his lids even more, so that his eyes looked closed. "Me... neither,"

"Onii-chan!"

"Ichi-nii!"

Karin and Yuzu bounded up the stairs to where Ichigo sat with his back to the wall. They crowded around him, Yuzu bawling into his bloody shirt.

"Ichi-nii, what happened? You- you're-"

"Dead?"

Karin nodded.

Ichigo looked at the three girls crouched in front of him. "I'll tell you... after I'm healed,"

Yuzu pulled away from him and stared at his stomach. "Karin, go get a first aid kit,"

"There's no point," Rukia cut in.

Yuzu looked at her with round, red-rimmed eyes. "What?"

She smiled softly at her. "Your brother isn't in his human body. His soul had been injured. Human first aid isn't going to heal a soul,"

"Then... what will?" Karin asked. Yuzu looked defeated and helpless.

Rukia raised her hands and inched closer to the orange-haired boy. "I may be in Squad 13, but I still know some healing kidou," She gingerly placed her cold hands on this stomach, careful not to hurt him even more. Ichigo shifted uncomfortably, but after the kidou took effect, he relaxed.

"Thank you, Rukia, for helping," Ichigo turned his head to his sisters. "And thank you, Yuzu, Karin, for not trying to stop the Quincy yourselves. He would've hurt you really badly,"

"He hurt _you_ really badly!" Yuzu cried out.

Ichigo smiled and ruffled her hair. "I'm the big brother. I'm supposed to be the one that gets hurt,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

A large white, frozen complex loomed in front of Ivan Azgiaro. The shadow had carried him to the Quincy headquarters where his master awaited the arrival of the Kurosakis. Azgiaro gulped. He hadn't managed to get a single one of them.

He hadn't served under his master's command for very long, but despite that, Azgiaro knew the man would not show mercy if he acted weak. He needed to tell the Quincy leader the truth in a bold manner.

Azgiaro walked up the steps with his chest puffed out and chin held high. Maybe if he looked more confident, he'd feel more confident. He kept telling himself that until he stepped into the throne room.

It was extremely large and crowded with Quincy to guard the man sitting in the shadowy way-back. Every ounce of courage the young Arrancar had a moment before left him. His knees shook as he forced every step towards the large man in the back.

"Sir, Azgiaro-san had returned," One of the guards said.

"Without the recruits," Another murmured.

Azgiaro stepped forward and bowed. "I am back from the world of the living..." He glanced up. "... Yhwach-sama,"

Yhwach was a large man with long, dark hair. He sat in his chair casually, his elbows resting on his knees. Despite his size, it was his look that scared others. It was the kind of expression that chilled one to the bone with just one glance, like he knew something fatal about you that even you didn't know. Yhwach looked at Azgiaro like that, making the Arrancar feel like he had nothing to say that his leader did not already know.

"Tell me," Yhwach said smoothly in his rich voice. "How did your mission go?"

Azgiaro gulped again, but mentally reprimanded himself to be braver. Straightening his back, he replied in what he thought was a strong voice, "I did what you asked; I attempted to arouse Kurosaki Ichigo's reiryoku by inserting reishi into his soul. And... "

"And?"

Azgiaro forced himself not to look away. "And it forced Kurosaki's soul from his body. His soul chain was severed. I attempted to bring him back here, but he fought back and refused to join us. Then a shinigami girl showed up-"

"He fought back?"

The Arrancar was taken aback by Yhwach's question. "Uhm, yes, sir,"

"And he overwhelmed you?"

"N- no, sir,"

"Then why is he not here?"

Azgiaro felt himself shaking. "Kurosaki refused to join. No matter what I would've tried, he would've-

"Would have?" Yhwach leaned forward. Azgiaro felt himself suffocating under the pressure. "Do you mean to say that you did not _try _to capture Kurosaki?"

Azgiaro tried to speak, but his voice failed him.

Yhwach continued. "Even as a soul, we could have found use for him. He would've been a strong weapon to use against Soul Society. How could they kill their precious _shinigami-daikou?_"

Azgiaro stayed silent.

"What about the sisters?"

"They- uhm, Kurosaki Ichigo pulled me away from them, and they left while I... uhm,"

Yhwach sighed and before any of the Quincy in the room could so much as blink, blood spattered everywhere and Ivan Azgiaro lay on the floor, lifeless.

"I knew I couldn't trust an Arrancar to do such a simple task like that. It wasn't even a difficult mission. Kurosaki had no reiryoku,"

"Sir, if he had no reiryoku, how would he use his Quincy abilities?"

Yhwach turned to the sound of the guard's voice. Luders Friegen. "You are a Quincy, are you not?"

"Yes, sir,"

"And how do you gain power,"

"By absorbing outside reishi, sir,"

"Exactly,"

Friegen cocked an eyebrow in confusion, but red blurred his vision as his lungs filled with blood. He hadn't even seen Yhwach deliver the killing blow.

"Yhwach... sama..." Friegen hit the ground with a thud.

Yhwach rested his head on his fist. "I hate stupid questions," The leader of the Quincy turned to his nearest guard. "I think it's about time we started this. I want you to alert the soutaicho of Seireitei that in nine days, Soul Society will fall,"

"Master, that means that we must begin our attack today-"

"Is that a problem?"

The small guard shook her head. "No, master. We are ready,"

Yhwach nodded. "I should hope so. Bring a few others, and try not to get killed. The shinigami can be quite cruel to intruders,"

The female Quincy saluted and started to step out, but Yhwach's voice stopped her. "Oh... and one more thing," She turned.

"Tell Yamamoto Genryuusai... _my name,"_

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"I just don't understand why a Quincy would be wearing a hollow's mask like an Arrancar. Don't Quincy hate hollows?"

Rukia sat on Ichigo's bed with her hands in her lap. He had just explained everything that had happened up to the point where Rukia had shown up. She considered Ichigo's question, which had been bothering her as well. "When I first felt his reiatsu, I thought it was a hollow, or an Arrancar, but when I got close to him, I wasn't so sure. It seems more likely that he was a Quincy, though, because of his cross,"

Ichigo watched his two younger sisters, both asleep and using each of his thighs as a pillow. He was glad they were safe. He thought about what would have happened if they had been taken to join the Quincy army, or Wandenreich, as the Quincy-Arrancer had called it. "I guess I'll find out when I confront that guy,"

Rukia cocked an eyebrow. "Confront him? Ichigo, you lost your powers. How are you going to confront him?"

One reason that made everyone believe in Ichigo so much was his determined look. He looked at Rukia like that, and even though she didn't know how he would become a shinigami again, she knew that he'd find a way. She sighed. "So you really are coming to the Soul Society for good," She looked down at her feet, swinging in the air. "Honestly, I never really thought this day would come. You seem- ahem, _seemed_- to be immortal somehow," She glared at him teasingly.

He shrugged. "At least I didn't die as a sad, old man,"

"Just as a sad, young man,"

Ichigo scowled. "I'm not sad,"

"I beg to differ, fool. Honestly, you're so emo sometimes,"

Ichigo's eye twitched. "I oughta strangle you..."

She laughed a little, glad for moments like these again. She didn't really have good friends in Seireitei (well, besides Renji, she supposed), but it was hard to be with the ones she had in the world of the living, her being dead and them being _not _dead. It still struck her as odd that Ichigo was, in reality, dead.

"Hey, Rukia..."

"Yeah?"

He poked his body's shoulder. "You don't suppose I could join my body again, do you? I left my body all the time as a shinigami. What's so different now?"

Rukia stared at Ichigo's chest, where a chain of fate should have been hanging, connecting to Ichigo's body. However, there was no chain. "Ichigo, when Urahara turned you into a shinigami, he severed your soul chain, which is what bound you to your body and would allow you to return to it. Do you remember when Inoue's brother attacked as a hollow?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Inoue was outside her body as a soul, but she was able to return to her body because her chain of fate was still attached," Rukia pointed to Ichigo's chest. "There's no return for you,"

"Then why could I return as a shinigami?"

"A shinigami soul does not need a body to be in the world of the living. In a sense, your human body was like a shinigami's gigai. It held your shinigami soul. You were a shinigami. That's where your mind was. Now, what you were is that dead body on the floor. It's not a gigai for you anymore,"

Ichigo thought about it for a moment. Bluntly, he said, "I still don't get it,"

Rukia pulled out a sketchpad. "Would you like me to illustrate it for you?"

Ichigo gave her a weird look. "That's alright. You can leave your sucky drawings to yourself,"

Rukia yelled and threw her sketchpad directly at Ichigo's face.

After it fell to the floor, he grumbled, "I should have seen that coming,"

"You're too dense, Ichigo," Rukia insulted him.

The comment made Ichigo remember part of his conversation with the Quincy-Arrancer. "_I was told you were a bit dense,"_

Told by who?

"Ichigo?" Rukia looked ever so slightly concerned. "What's the matter?"

Ichigo didn't know how to explain those thoughts. He would really only be insulting himself if he tried. He shook his head. "Nothing," Rukia's disbelieving look made Ichigo change the subject. "That Quincy guy shot me with pure reishi. I don't know why, but it hurt _a lot_, like... like, I could feel my soul being damaged. And the second shot actually killed me,"

Rukia didn't understand either. "The amount of reishi injected into your body must've been too much for you to handle. Maybe if had your reiryoku, it wouldn't have been a problem," Rukia tried to sound sure, but she wasn't to confident on that reasoning herself.

Ichigo looked down at his sisters again. He was silent in thought for a moment. Then he looked at Rukia with an expression she couldn't place. "He said my mom was a Quincy,"

Rukia's eyes widened. She leaned forward on the edge of the bed. "Is it true?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I don't know. There's a lot I never learned about her. But... if she is, that would mean _I'm_ a Quincy. It doesn't make sense. I keep thinking that she wasn't a Quincy, because if I was, then I wouldn't have had a problem absorbing that reishi, right? Quincies do it all the time to gain power,"

Rukia thought about it. Maybe his shinigami side was blocking it? But no. He'd lost that side. And she wasn't sure that a shinigami absorbing reishi would necessarily kill them. But... was Ichigo... could Ichigo be part Quincy? He certainly had strange abilities, so an even more complex hybrid would make sense.

A thought struck her. "Ichigo, did you ever stop to think about who that guy was?"

"Huh?"

"A Quincy. That guy was a _Quincy. _Supposedly, all the Quincies had been eradicated in the Quincy Annihilation War _two hundred _years ago. Sure, there must have been lone survivors, like Ishida's ancestors, but that Quincy we fought said there was a whole _army _of Quincy. Enough of an army to fight a war,"

"He didn't seem too confident about his numbers if he was trying to recruit two little girls and a guy with no spiritual powers,"

"There must be a reason. You must have Quincy powers if they believed you could potentially become useful. They would just have to be reawakened, maybe by absorbing reishi like the oth-" Drat. There was always a dead end. The reishi absorption was a _failure. _She felt she needed to talk to someone. Urahara came to her mind. He always seemed to have the answer.

She looked at Ichigo closely. His bruises were faded, and most of the blood was cleaned up. Up close, he looked older than he had seventeen months before when she saw him up close all the time. Of course, humans aged much, much quicker than the shinigami, but that wasn't why he looked older. His face was harder. Rukia knew he didn't want to admit it, but she knew that Ichigo hadn't been himself since he'd lost his reiryoku, in a bad, depressing way. She didn't like seeing him like that. But, she knew how she might be able to take away his sadness.

"Ichigo, it's time,"

Ichigo watched as she stood up and carefully stepped over his human body towards him. She gripped the end of her zanpakuto, and he knew what was coming. "You might want to wake you sisters,"

"Yeah," Ichigo shook his sisters awake. He thought he'd feel worse about leaving them behind, but he actually felt more confident. He would regain his shinigami powers so that he could watch over them all the time. He could actually protect them once again.

Yuzu rubbed her eyes. Karin sat up and blinked groggily. "Ichi... nii?"

"Yuzu, Karin. I have to go now,"

Yuzu seemed wide awake now. "What?"

Ichigo ruffled her hair. "I've got to go to the Soul Society. I promise to visit often,"

"But-"

"I can't stay here. If I do, a hollow will come after me. Or worse; I'll become a hollow myself," Actually, that had kind of already happened... more than once. "Then I'll devour your souls," Ichigo's voice was monotone.

Yuzu pouted. "Onii-chan, you're so mean,"

Karin watched Ichigo sadly. "I'll take care of Yuzu, Ichi-nii. And I'll try to keep that old geezer in line,"

"Please do," Ichigo smiled. "If you find dad, tell him what happened. I get the feeling he isn't around right now," Ichigo was sure of that; there was no way he'd let his precious children get attacked, one killed and the other two almost kidnapped.

He smiled at the two girls again, then looked up at Rukia. "Go ahead,"

She nodded, drawing the hilt of her blade closer to his forehead. "Ichigo, just go to Seireitei. I'll find you there," With that, she pressed the end of her cold blade to Ichigo's forehead, performing the maybe saddest or most hopeful konso she'd ever done before.

In a brightish light, he vanished before their eyes, having passed on to the Soul Society.

The three girls were silent for a moment before Yuzu started to sniffle. "I'm going to miss him a lot,"

Karin rested an arm on her sister's shoulders, then turned to Rukia. "Rukia-chan, I didn't want Ichi-nii to hear this, but please, try to keep him from doing dumb stuff. He always listens to you. Watch over him,"

Rukia closed her eyes and smiled. She knew that already. "I promise," She turned and opened the _senkaimon_, about to disappear into the afterlife, when her _denreishinki _began to beep. She quickly whipped it out and read the message from her captain.

_Return to Seireitei _immediately. _There's an urgent special war-time meeting._

She sucked in a breath and tucked the pager away in her _shihakusho._

"Rukia-chan; what's wrong?"

Rukia glanced at Ichigo's sisters and realized she must've looked worried. She let her eyebrows fall back to their normal position and took a deep, calming breath.

"Nothing," She said pleasantly. "Just a message to return to Soul Society,"

The girls nodded. Rukia kept her smile on and was about to quickly enter the _senkaimon_, when two figures burst in through the walls. "Kuchiki-fukutaicho!" Sentarou and Kiyone cried in unison.

Sentarou stepped forward. "We've just recieved a message from Ukitake-taicho for immediate return. We will escort you immediately!"

Rukia nodded. "I know. I got the message as well,"

Kiyone clenched her fists. "I'll escort you right now! Ukitake needs you immediately!"

"I just said that, idiot!"

The two third-seats began arguing, and Rukia decided to just interrupt with a question. "Where were you two, anyway?"

The both stopped and shouted, "Right outside, keeping watch, Kuchiki-fukutaicho!" Each tried to push forward to be closest to Rukia, so she shrunk back and stepped past them into the awaiting senkaimon. "I'll see you another time, Yuzu, Karin," Quickly, all three shinigami entered the gate before it close behind them.

The darkness made anxious thoughts run through Rukia's head.

_ Special war-time order? _

She knew something really bad had happened, so she made herself shunpo as quickly as she could for the second time that night.

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"Soutaicho, more updates from Kuchiki-taicho and Abarai-fukutaicho,"

Yamamoto turned towards the Squad 6 officer standing before him. The updates from Squad 6's captain and lieutenant were coming quite frequently now. It was reassuring, because the more they knew, the safer they'd be. "Go ahead,"

The officer nodded. "Appoximately 106 souls were taken in the last four hours. The diameter of the attack area had tripled since then as well,"

"What?" Yamamoto felt a little apprehension. He was getting really worried about the balance of souls between the worlds. If they didn't stop the hollows soon...

"That's not all, sir. Kuchiki-taicho noted that the souls are not being eaten. He said it looked as if they were _absorbed_ in a black shadow-"

Yamamoto's eyes widened. No. It couldn't be...

The soutaicho held onto his stick more tightly and cut off what the officer was saying.

"Young man, I want you to tell Kuchiki-taicho and his fukutaicho to return immediately. Soutaicho's orders,"

The man saluted. "uhm, yes, s-"

"Don't waste any time! Go immediately!"

The shinigami was gone in a flash.

The soutaicho turned to a nearby table and placed his hand atop it, trying to calm his nerves down. He knew this day would come, but he hadn't expected it now. He thought about those days over a thousand years ago, when he'd fought against his most difficult opponent ever. And now, it seemed, that he was making a comeback.

Yamamoto wasn't worried for himself; he was worried about the rest of seireitei. He knew the man he'd fought wouldn't invade Soul Society without a large and strong army. The soutaicho had confidence in his own men, but he worried about the kind of people on the other side of the oncoming fight. Dark thoughts clouded his mind.

He reached for a Hell Butterfly to contact all the captains and lieutenants in the Gotei 13. They had a war to prepare for.

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

Right now, I have a bad obsession with all of Ishida, Byakuya, and Ichigo's Bleach beats songs...


	4. The Rukongai

_Simple Zac, The Fantabulous Nemo Dexter, Sabre G, beyondrepent, ChampThunderDick, miltonski, Reader of a thousand tales, _and _pitapat-_ Thank you!

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"Taicho!"

Matsumoto's bubbly voice startled Hitsugaya out of his thoughts. He hadn't meant to, but her outburst in his ear had caused him to jump.

"Gotcha!" His fukutaicho began to giggle mockingly. Hitsugaya's ice-blue eye twitched.

"Matsumoto!" He growled. "Don't you have other places to be?" He had been holed up in the office all day doing seemingly endless paperwork, and all Matsumoto had done was distract him. The pile he had left could've been gone hours ago if his lieutenant had been outside.

"Taicho," She pouted. "I have nothing to do!"

"HOW ABOUT SOME OF THIS PAPERWORK?!" Hitsugaya angrily thrust his hands out after she'd snapped his last string of sanity. He would've felt slightly guilty about yelling if his fukutaicho hadn't shaken her head and grumbled some more. Hitsugaya was about to let more anger out, but a sudden Hell Butterfly fluttered into the room.

It landed on Matsumoto's finger, and she began to speak the message aloud. "This is an order from Yamamoto-soutaicho. All taichos and fukutaichos are to report immediately to the meeting room as soon as they have alerted all members of their squads that a fierce battle is about to take place. All shinigami are to be on the alert and have their zanpakuto ready to be released at all times. No shinigami is to leave Seireitei from this point on, and all shinigami already out are to return immediately. This is an urgent order,"

With each sentence, Hitsugaya Toushiro's eyes had grown wider and wider. The message had sounded bad, and Hitsugaya could tell something terrible was about to happen in Seireitei. He gripped Hyourinmaru tightly. "Matsumoto. Alert the squad about the message. I'm heading to the meeting; come as quickly as possible,"

Matusmoto's eyes were serious. "Yes, sir,"

The two shunpo-ed in separate directions.

Hitsugaya arrived at the meeting room to find that Squads two, five, and seven had already arrived.

Shinji turned to Hitsugaya, twisting his index finger around in his ear. "Where's Matsumoto?"

"Alerting our squad," He looked past the captain of the fifth division to the lieutenant. He and Hinamori made eye contact, but he quickly looked away. She looked agitated.

No one said much. The air was too tense, and there wasn't really much _to _say. What everyone could guess, though, was that this meeting had something to do with the hollows Byakuya and Renji were investigating.

Not before long, all the captains and lieutenants had arrived besides Squad 6. Yamamoto stepped up, not waiting for the missing taicho and fukutaicho to return from the world of the living.

"A report from Kuchiki-taicho has alerted us of an oncoming enemy. The hollows they were investigating are in fact _Quincies_-" Sudden outbursts and gasps filled the room, but the soutaicho didn't stop. He only increased his volume. "-and could be coming to invade Seireitei at any time. I have dealt with their leader once before, and he is not a man to underestimate, nor are his men. Everyone must be prepared to fight for their lives,"

Everyone began to speak at once.

"Soutaicho, why would the Quincies be attacking Soul Society?"

"So the Quincies are making a comeback, eh?"

"I'm glad. I'm ready to cut something up. This place has been boring lately,"

"This is perfect, Nemu, I'll have new Quincy powers to dissect!"

"SILENCE!" Yamamoto banged his large cane on the ground a few times, and the room immediately became hushed. The captain commander fixed his beady eyes on every person individually. "I know you have many questions, but I will just say this: These Quincies were eradicated two hundred years ago for a reason. They are sure to have acquired new powers that are unknown to us, and they are collecting human souls as we speak. Whatever we do, we must defeat them, because the balance of the world of the living and the afterlife are at stake here. Have I made myself clear?"

A chorus of, "Yes, sir"'s and nods were given in reply.

Yamamoto gripped his stick. "This meeting is over! You are dismissed! Be on the lookout,"

A few moments later, the room was empty except for Yamamoto and Sasakibe-fukutaicho.

Sasakibe, with his hands behind his back, walked up to his captain. "Sir, since you've fought this man before, how strong do you think these Quincies will be?"

Yamamoto didn't look his lieutenant in the eye. Quietly, he said, "I'm sure this war will make the Winter War look like child's play. But we must stay strong through it. That will be our greatest strength,"

Sasakibe waited a moment before asking, "Soutaicho... do we need to call on Squad Zero?"

The captain commander looked up across the room. Squad Zero hadn't been contacted in many, many years; they weren't even asked for assistance during the Winter War, so he knew asking now could make the Gotei-13 look weak. He didn't want to...

"Alert them. But don't have them assist us just yet,"

"Yes, sir,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

Ichigo had the strangest feeling in his gut after waking up in the streets of the Rukongai. He remembered everything that had happened up until the point where Rukia stamped his forehead with the bottom of her zanpakuto. He supposed nothing really happened between then and now, or that any time had really passed. It was still dark outside.

Rukia had told him to go straight to Seireitei. He looked down the street, hoping to see the large court from where he was, but all he saw were more run down shacks. Ichigo huffed. He couldn't flashstep, and he knew the Rukongai was humongous. For all he knew, it could take him weeks to reach Seireitei by foot.

Deciding not to waste anymore time, he began running.

When he arrived in Soul Society for the first time, he had ended up in a part of the Rukon district close the the gates of Seireitei. There, the houses were much nicer, the people much cleaner. He knew the farther from the center you were, the poorer the conditions and people were going to be. By the looks of his surroundings, Ichigo could tell he wasn't very close to where he needed to be.

"Newcomer?"

Ichigo turned to see a dirty old man sitting in the shade of an overhang. He nodded and stepped closer to the man.

"I can tell. You look so human," He cackled, and then began to hack over and over again.

"Uh.. are you alright?"

The old man coughed a few more times, pounding his chest with a wrinkled fist. "Yeah," He said hoarsely. "I'm just old. Been here a long time,"

"How long?"

The old man counted his fingers. "Probably like a thousand years," He looked at Ichigo expectantly, probably to see if his mouth was hanging open or if he had a disbelieving look on his face; Ichigo wasn't surprised at all. He knew how slow people aged in Soul Society.

"So you died young?"

The old man huffed, obviously annoyed that he didn't get the reaction he'd wanted. "Died as a child. I was taken in by some ladies in the 43rd Rukon district, but then I fell in love and ran off to be with the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on, only to learn that she was cheat-"

Ichigo held up his hands, a little nervous of the murderous look appearing on the old man's face. "That's okay; you don't have to tell me your life story,"

The old man looked irked.

Ichigo decided to change the subject. He looked around, noticing how silent everything was. "I've never been to this part of the Rukongai, but from what I've heard, isn't it supposed to be extremely crowded? Where is everybody?"

A shadow fell across the old man's face. He looked as if he aged a few more years just in that short moment. "Everyone's inside,"

Ichigo's eyebrows rose. "Why?"

"We've been warned to hide. A message was sent all throughout Soul Society about a massive war about to happen in Seireitei,"

Ichigo's breath hitched in his throat. "Wait... what?"

"As I said, I've been here a thousand years. I may have been young, but I clearly remember when something like this happened. A Quincy, Yhwach or something, and his followers attacked Soul Society to try and overtake Seireitei. It was a bloody battle, and the only reason we won was because of Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni,"

A Quincy? Ichigo thought back to the Quincy-Arrancar that had killed him.

_"We're about to be in a war. And in war, you need as many allies as you can get. That's why the leader of the Quincies sent me here to recruit you to the Wandenreich, the Quincy military,"_

So the war he had been talking about was actually a raid on Seireitei? And they wanted him to fight _against _the shinigami? Ichigo's vision filled with red. He felt more angry than he had in a long time. He couldn't believe that this Yhwach guy would think that Ichigo would kill his allies just because his mother may or may not have been a Quincy.

But why were the Quincy attacking in the first place?

"Old man," He said. "What were the Quincy after a thousand years ago?"

The old man blinked in surprise at Ichigo's change in demeanor. "Uhm... I think it was just power..."

That's it. Ichigo was sick of it; pointless battles just so someone else could get to the top. He'd already dealt with Aizen, and it seemed these guys were just like him. He knew it now; he _had _to get his shinigami powers back.

"Old man, could you point me the way to Seireitei?"

"Kid, it's best not to go there. You'll be killed fo-"

"Please," Ichigo clenched his fists. "This is important,"

The old man looked at Ichigo a little sadly. "You're a shinigami, aren't you?"

Ichigo didn't reply.

The old man broke eye contact and sighed, standing up slowly. He pointed behind himself, north of Ichigo. "Turn right at the next street and keep heading north that way; Seireitei'll be straight ahead. It will take a bit of time to get there,"

"Thanks," Ichigo nodded, not wasting any time. He began running in the direction the man told him, leaving dust flying in the air behind him.

A sigh was heard through the window of a nearby shack. A small blonde head peaked out, looking in the direction Ichigo had run. "He's not going to make it,"

The old man turned to the girl. "Do you know what that boy reminded me of?"

She shook her head.

"He reminds me of that shinigami-daikou; you know, that one we've heard all those stories about? He had spikey orange hair and a scowl like that, supposedly,"

The girl stared at him for a moment before giggling into her hand. "It couldn't be. Even I have more reiryoku than that boy,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

White, thick-soled boots clacked on the wooden floor. The young women took each step with confidence, her back straight and chin held high, not in the least bit worried about the man standing before her. She had her white hood pulled over her head, and her long trench coat was buttoned up to her chin. All that was visible of her face was her nose and mouth, contorted into an evil grin.

The man at the end of the room stayed silent as she and the six guards she'd brought with her kept striding across the long hall. When she was about 10 feet from the ancient man, she stopped and began to speak.

"Hello, Yamamoto-soutaicho,"

The soutaicho eyed the seven people in front of him warily, choosing to stay silent.

The women's grin grew ever wider. "I can see that you've already found out about the Quincy invasion, eh? Well, I'm just here to deliver a message, so you might want to pay very close attention," She took two steps closer to the captain commander of Seireitei, daring him to step back, but he didn't move a muscle. In a menacing tone, she began. "In nine days, Soul Society will fall. Try to fight back, and it will only result in a quicker and more painful bloodshed," With each step, she got closer and closer, until she was standing almost directly under the soutaicho's nose. In a crackling whisper, she said, "Yhwach is coming, soutaicho,"

Yamamoto lost his composure and released his zanpakuto from his cane in lightning speed, but the girl and her guards had disappeared in a shadow quicker than he could blink.

He yelled, fire raging around him, trying to release all the stress and frustration building up inside him since he'd first realized who their opponents were. Let Yhwach come. Let him come _right this moment. _

The captain commander was ready to end their thousand-year blood war

_NOW._

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

The dirt streets of the Rukongai were rough. Little pebbles stuck out at random places, and Ichigo reckoned he'd stepped on pretty much all of them by now. As a spirit, he could run a lot longer without getting tired, but even now, he was slowing down.

The grey of dawn had started to replace the midnight black sky. He'd been running for hours, and still, it seemed as if Seireitei was a million miles away. It had hardly gotten any closer than it had been back where he'd woken up. This was bad. A war was about to start, and he still had to gain his powers back. He knew that even if he couldn't get his zanpakuto, he'd still fight with a normal katana. He still had the swordsman skills.

Ichigo knew a Quincy, and had seen him fight. If these Quincy were anything like Ishida, then Ichigo might stand a chance.

Just then, a small kid ran out into the deserted street, chasing a ball. Ichigo quickly stopped to avoid crashing into the boy, but he lost his footing and face-planted into the ground.

"Eating the dirt?"

Ichigo raised his head and saw a really tall, really buff shinigami standing above him. He was bald and had a bunch of scars on his face, grinning in a mocking way.

Ichigo stood up and brushed the dirt off his gray Rukongai clothes, which, to his relief, were much easier to run in than his typical school uniform. "Just tripped," He was about to run off again when the shinigami stopped him.

"What're you doing out here in Rukongai... Kurosaki-san?"

Ichigo froze and looked at the man curiously. "How do you know my name?"

"Everyone in Seireitei knows your name, idiot. Plus, my taicho always talks about the day when you come back to have a rematch, and how he'll kill you this time,"

"Tch. 11th Squad..." Ichigo figured it out. The only captain in Seireitei that still wanted him dead was Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of Squad 11. He seemed to think that since Ichigo was his only equal opponent, they had to fight every time they met. Luckily, Ichigo had been able to avoid those situations so far.

The 11th division member scratched his chest. "I was visiting my mom, but I got the message earlier to return to Seireitei for the Quincy invasion... I'm assuming that's why you're running out there?"

Ichigo nodded.

The man sighed. "It'll take you another day at least to get there at your pace. I can help you out, if you promise me something first,"

The orange haired teen rolled his eyes. "What?"

"After this whole battle, you gotta promise to fight Zaraki-taicho, kay? And put in a good word about me, Hyoubanshi Mamoru Satoshi, ninth seat. He might bump me up if he knows I'm the one who convinced you to fight him, eh? Eh?"

Ichigo was getting irritated by the man elbowing him in the shoulder. The guy's name would be hard to remember, so Ichigo didn't even bother trying to remember it. He also didn't want to fight Kenpachi... but if it got him to Seireitei faster...

He groaned. "Fine, whatever. Just tell me how to get to Seireitei quicker-" He yelped in surprised when the shinigami grabbed him and held him in a similar fashion to the way a police officer would hold a battering ram. Ichigo protested, but stopped when the shinigami officer started to shunpo.

He felt the familiar rush of wind in his face with each step the man took. It made him miss being able to shunpo himself, since it was a very useful ablity the shinigami had. The Seireitei began to grow larger quicker and quicker, until, after almost an hour, they were right outside its gates.

Hyoubanshi set him down, panting a little. "Here you go,"

"Thank you. And uh, sorry if that caused you a lot of trouble..."

"No problem," The man swatted away some sweat from his face. "Just don't forget to mention my name to Zaraki-taicho, and it'll be worth it,"

Ichigo nodded, making himself promise to do that since the man really did help a whole lot. Without him, Ichigo would still be a day's journey of nonstop running away. He raised his head to look at the walls that had been put up, probably to provide extra protection against the oncoming Quincy. At least, Ichigo hoped they hadn't shown up yet.

He began running toward the gate and reached it in no time at all. It was locked. "Hey!" He called loudly. "Open this thing up!"

A loud rumbling filled the air, and suddenly everything became shadowed. Ichigo's breath caught in his throat. Had the invasion started? He looked up at the sky to see an extremely large figure quickly descending upon him. Ichigo shrieked and dove to the side to avoid getting smashed by the large figure that crashed into the ground moments later. From the rubble, he looked up to see Jidanbo, the gatekeeper of _Hakutomon, _the White Road Gate.

"The shinigami-daikou?" He scratched his large head with a finger the size of Ichigo's whole body. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help! Can you let me in?"

"Me too!" Hyoubanshi called up as well, running towards the two of them, looking a little better than he had a moment ago.

Jidanbo didn't even hesitate. He got his fingers under the heavy gate and lifted, making struggled noises the whole time. "Good luck," He choked out while Ichigo and Hyoubanshi ran through, the gate slamming shut behind them.

Everything was quiet. Ichigo had expected Seireitei to be in chaos about the upcoming battle, so the eerie emptiness made him feel worried. What if the Quincies were so strong that they had already wiped out every shinigami? Ichigo shook his head. There was no way that was possible. There were plenty of extremely strong taichos and fukutaichos that wouldn't go down that easily.

He decided to head straight to the old man in charge. If anyone knew a way for Ichigo to regain his powers, the soutaicho was the most likely choice.

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"The sun is risen, sir,"

"I know that already," Yhwach turned away from the window he'd been staring out of. Outside of the Ice Palace, their world was in eternal darkness. They saw no sun, no stars, not even a moon. Despite that, he had been keeping track of the worlds outside their own; Soul Society was seeing the milky rays of sunrise.

The Quincy leader turned to the young man standing quietly a few feet away. He was a new recruit, and had been given a white uniform identical to the others. Although he was a Quincy just like the others in the room, Yhwach was keeping a close eye on him. He had doubts about the man's loyalty, but he knew that even if they came true, that young man would never be able to overpower himself, the father of the Quincies.

"Are you ready for this?"

Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he gave the his leader a solemn look. "Do you have to ask?"

Yhwach grinned and turned to his army, all lined up on front of him. The group extended to fill the entire large throne room, each with a different expression plastered on their face. Yhwach raised his voice. "Is everyone ready?"

The loudest chorus of, "yes, sir!"'s he'd ever heard filled his ears, making his large grin extend even farther across his hard face. _Good. All I hear is confidence today. _"WANDENREICH, HEAD OUT!"

Each member saluted and marched out of the room. Through all the footsteps, 26 men and woman stayed behind, many with their arms crossed casually and with mischevious expressions. These were Yhwach's secret weapons: the ones that would defeat all the captains in Seireitei.

"Sternritter..." Each member stopped whatever chatter they had going on and turned their attention to Yhwach. "Show me your best today. Not a single taicho or fukutaicho will live after these nine days. If you can't do that, pierce yourself with your own arrow right now! The Sternritter does not need members with mixed loyalties, the slightest bit of doubt, or a lack of confidence. Are your intentions straight? Speak up!"

"Yhwach-sama, we're ready for this," The blonde-haired man beside Yhwach said. "If we can't be trusted, then what are we?" He looked to the white-clad Quincies in front of him. He spoke in a clear, commanding tone, as if he was born to be in his position. "Sternritter. We _will _take Soul Society."

The group erupted into deafening cheers, all of them louder than the entire Wandenreich earlier.

The young black haired man pushed up his glasses in a force of habit once again.

Yhwach nodded. "I expect you to lead them well, Haschwalth," The blonde man nodded and led the group out. The room was emptied quickly, leaving Yhwach and the new recruit alone.

"Would you like me to go with them, Yhwach-sama?" He asked respectfully, not moving an inch.

Yhwach shook his head, resting his arms behind his back as he stared out the window once again. "You are Sternritter A, my successor. You'll be by my side in this war... Ishida Uryuu,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

I feel like this was not my best chapter...

But on another note, did anyone else watch the first episode of SAO season 2? I can't say how excited I am! (huge KiritoXAsuna shipper here :D )

Reviews are appreciated!


	5. The Hollow Bind

Thanks to: _The Unknown ShiniGami, KyuubiNaruto4444, BleachedWarlocker, Natsu-Dragneel, 6785887, _and _TheDarknessIncarnate!_

ENJOY

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"It's no use; he's too heavy. We'll just have to leave him on the floor,"

"But he looks so sad on the floor,"

"Here; just close his eyes,"

"Are you sure we shouldn't call someone about this?"

"Nah. The old man will take care of it,"

"..."

"..."

"Where is he, anyway?"

Kurosaki Isshin suddenly burst through the door, unable to contain himself any longer. He had hoped to just eavesdrop on Ichigo, but he'd heard his precious daughters inside and knew something must've been up.

"Daddy's right here! No need to worry!" He threw himself at his preteen daughters, who both yelped in surprise. At the last moment, Karin recovered and lifted her foot to intercept her father mid-air.

"I should've known he'd be listening in,"

Isshin sat up, a small shoeprint on his face. "What? Daddy doesn't eavesdrop!"

"Yes he does,"

Fake tears began to pour out of Isshin's eyes, begging his daughters to forgive him while scootching closer on his knees. That's when he bumped into something and opened his eyes to peer down at the face of his orange-haired son. He looked asleep. "Oi, Ichigo! What are you doing, sleeping on the floor when you should be watching over your sisters?" To emphasize his anger, he hit Ichigo on the head, hard, expecting the boy to stop the swing as usual. But instead, his fist connected with his son's skull.

"Ah, Dad! Stop that!" Yuzu cried. "We want him to look nice!"

"Eh?" Isshin was confused. He poked his son a few times. "Nice for what? His non-existant date?" He laughed at his own joke, elbowing Karin in the side to see if she would laugh; she didn't, of course. He pouted again. "Why don't you laugh at Daddy's jokes?"

"Because they're not funny,"

Isshin made a defeated face. He turned back to Yuzu. "What's wrong with Ichigo?"

She played with her fingers. "Ah... uhm... he's..."

Isshin grinned. "Don't worry, Yuzu! You can tell Daddy anything! Anything in the world!"

"Ichigo's in... Soul Society,"

Isshin was dumbfounded. Ichigo? In Soul Society? That would've been normal a year and a half ago, but now? Did he miss something important while he was gone?

Karin sighed. "She means to say that Ichigo died,"

"Eh?"

Well apparently he did.

Isshin looked curiously at Ichigo, poking him all over while repeatedly saying his name. He knew his son couldn't hold out that long without lashing out, so Isshin let the newfound knowledge seep in. It hit him-hard.

"How did this happen?" His demeanor immediately turned serious, surprising his daughters.

Karin struggled to speak for a moment. "Uh... well, it's kind of a long story..."

She and Yuzu told their father everything that happened to them: how the Quincy was there to recruit them to their army, how the man tried to kidnap them, how Ichigo fought to protect them. "And when the Quincy man was kicking onii-chan, Rukia-nee showed up and chased him off. Then she healed onii-chan with her shinigami powers,"

Completely engrossed in the story, Isshin sat cross-legged with his chin resting in his hand, nodding and "uh-huh"-ing every so often. A lot of their explanation didn't make much sense, but he decided to save his questions for the end. When she finished, ("And finally, Rukia-nee performed konso on him, and they both left for Soul Society,") Isshin grinned. "That was beautifully told, my daughters!" He hugged them tightly.

Karin rolled her eyes. "You say that as if this was just a story,"

Isshin released them. "Don't worry; I believe you both," He focused on his son again, still not over how much he just looked like he was napping. In fact, his expression was shaped into something Isshin rarely saw on his son's face: content. He immediately delved into his unanswered questions. "You never told me, but how did Ichigo die exactly?"

"He told us that the Quincy-Arrancar shot him with his pure reishi arrow before he came into Ichigo's room. And when he was shot again, his soul popped out of his body," Karin explained.

Their father nodded. "And he couldn't return because Urahara severed his soul chain when he trained him," The thought of Urahara Kisuke made Isshin remember why he was gone all night in the first place. He shook the thought away so he could focus more on his children. Isshin asked another of his questions. "And this Quincy guy was extremely strong?"

Yuzu nodded. "He hurt Onii-chan without really even trying,"

"Except-" Karin interjected. "-Ichi-nii told us that as a normal soul outside his body, he had a hard time adjusting to movement and breathing because he had no spiritual powers to provide energy for his spiritual body. So that wouldn't be fair to say the Quincy-Arrancar was so much stronger. I bet if Ichi-nii were in his shinigami form, he'd have beat the living crap outta that guy,"

"Karin-nii..."

"About that Quincy-Arrancar guy, could you explain to daddy what exactly you mean?"

"Ichi-nii said that every Arrancar has part of a mask, because they are hollows. And that Quincy guy had a piece of hollow mask on him,"

"And you're sure it wasn't just an old mask?"

Karin shook her head. "I see plenty of hollows; I know what their masks look like. And the guy's reiatsu felt like a different kind of hollow's,"

Isshin sighed. What his daughters told him confirmed everything he'd learned that night. He'd been worried for his children's safety, wondering if they would be approached by a Quincy. And now that it happened, Isshin wasn't very upset that Ichigo had died. If anything, Isshin was proud, but also hopeful. He knew Ichigo would find out how to restore his reiryoku, and considering what he did to Aizen, Isshin's son may just be the one to end the oncoming war.

Isshin placed his hands on his daughter's head and ruffled their hair. "Your brother is a good boy; he did his job as the oldest, by protecting you two. You should be proud of him,"

Yuzu's eyes teared up. "I am," She and Isshin clung to eachother both crying tears of joy. Karin could only give a slight smile. She wouldn't say it aloud, but she was proud of Ichigo too.

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

_"Oh, good. You made it,"_

_ Isshin walked in through Urahara Shoten's sliding front doors, surveying the small shop for anything he might maybe grab on the way out (maybe). He spotted Urahara's young assistants, peering at him from behind another door. The girl looked shy while the fiery red-head stared Isshin down. Isshin smirked._

_ "Of course I did. I wouldn't miss the chance to speak to some Arrancars... neh?" He trained his eyes even farther past the door where a young Espada and a skinny Arrancar yelped in surprise and hid deeper in the shadows._

_ Urahara walked past the snacks and into the back room, Isshin following close behind. "These two have some useful information they'd like to share with us... or more specifically, with Kurosaki-san,"_

_ "Hmm?" This must've been the Espada Nel. Ichigo had told him that one of the previous ten Espada had lost her memory and become a toddler, attached to Ichigo during his time at Hueco Mundo. It had helped, because the green-haired little girl was on the shinigami's side._

_ "Uhm..." Nel stepped closer to Urahara and Isshin, gripping her shirt front. "Where's Itsygo?" _

_ Isshin stepped forward, smiling, with his hand held out. "You're Nel, right? I'm Kurosaki Isshin, Ichigo's father,"_

_ Nel looked him up at down, eyes wide. Suddenly, she put her hand on her hips and became angry. "You don't even look like Itsygo!"_

_ "Ichigo didn't inherit my good looks-"_

_ "Kurosaki-san won't be coming, Nel," Urahara interuppted. "He lost his spiritual powers during his fight with Aizen; he won't be able to see you,"_

_ The short Espada balled her fists. "Then get his powers back! Itsygo's the only one who can help Nel!"_

_ Urahara grinned, playing with his zanpakuto. "I wish it were that simple, Nel-chan, but we have yet to figure out a way to revive his reiryoku. On another note," He said, covering his face with his fan just a little bit creepily.. "Why don't you tell Isshin-san here what the problem is?"_

_ Nel crossed her arms and refused to talk, so Pesche spoke hurriedly for her. "It's our brother, Dondachakka! He's been kidnapped by the Quincies!"_

_ Isshin was taken aback. "Why would a Quincy kidnap a hollow? Wouldn't they just eradicate them?"_

_ Pesche shook his head wildly. "Recently, a Quincy army called the Wandenreich invaded Hueco Mundo and kidnapped Hallibel-san, our current leader. They have Hueco Mundo under their control now, and their making Arrancars fight in a war coming up. They took Dondachakka!"_

_ Isshin processed it all. He knew there were still Quincy out there, and that they were gaining power for some purpose. His memory shifted back about 9 years earlier, when Masaki..._

_ He shut it out. He didn't feel like thinking about that._

_ "So it was an assault he needed the power for, eh, Urahara?"_

_ Urahara nodded. "Seems so,"_

_ Pesche looked from one man to the other. They couldn't see his face because of his mask, but his tone gave away his confusion. "Who are you talking about?"_

_ Urahara and Isshin exchanged a look, Urahara telling Isshin with his eyes that it was best to tell them. Isshin sighed, not wanting to recount the details. "There's a man named Yhwach. He's the father of the Quincies. A thousand years ago, there was a battle similar to what I think is about to happen now, but Yhwach was defeated and lost his powers. To regain his strength and continue his battle, he took 900 years to regain his pulse and 90 more years to regain his intellect. And nine years ago, he absorbed the powers of all the Quincy he believed were 'impure'," Isshin paused before continuing. "My wife was a Quincy. Her spiritual powers were consumed by Yhwach, and she died. According to the song he goes by, the Kaiser Gesang, Yhwach plans on taking over Soul Society in 9 days,"_

_ Pesche was shaking so hard, he couldn't speak. Nel finally spoke up instead. "Starting when?"_

_ Urahara made eye contact with the Espada, making her shrink back slightly. "Soon. Perhaps even tomorrow. Obviously, he's trying to gain as many recruits as he can, which is why he would turn to their enemy, the hollows. They're easy to manipulate," He grinned._

_ "Hey! We are not!"_

_ Isshin raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? So I suppose you were all secretly against Aizen the whole time?"_

_ Pesche lowered his head, but Nel shook her fists. "Nel and Pesche and Dondachakka were!"_

_ Urahara turned from the Espada and faced Isshin. "I don't suppose you'll want to fight in this war, Isshin-san. It'll get bloody real quick,"_

_ Isshin averted his eyes from the shady shop owener. He had regained his shinigami powers, but not so he could rejoin the Gotei-13 and fight all their battles. Now that Ichigo didn't have the abilities of a Shinigami, Isshin had to be to one to watch over the Kurosaki family. He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't afford to risk it,"_

_ With a smile, Urahara nodded in understanding, making the dark shadows covering his eyes extend. "I thought so. And then I thought, there could be a way to restore your son's reiryoku,"_

_ Isshin's eyes widened. "You've found one?"_

_ The lighter-haired man shook his head. "I have theories, but no definite solution,"_

_ The shop was silent while everyone was lost in their own thoughts, until Pesche burst in. "What about Dondachakka? That's what Nel and I came for!"_

_ "Oh, right," Urahara smiled somewhat apologetically. "I'm wanting to come check Hueco Mundo out for myself. And I believe there are a few people in this town who would gladly assist me," He turned to Isshin. "You can tell Kurosaki-san if you want, but I honestly think it'd be best to keep this whole situation to yourself; I don't see this war extending to the world of the living this time around,"_

_ Isshin scratched his chest. "I wasn't planning to. My boy worries too much about things he can't control,"_

_ "I suppose I'll see you another time then, Isshin-san. Just keep an eye out for any suspicious reiatsu... especially one of a Quincy," The shopkeep gestured to the others in the room. "Jinta, Ururu, Tessai-san, Nel-chan, Pesche-san: let's go,"_

_ "Yeah," _

_魂の実__施形態_

Isshin had immediately come home from that encounter the night before. From the outside, it may not have seemed like it, but Isshin was really good at hiding things. He had more secrets than stories, and the information he'd just learned was added to his secretive list. There was no use in telling his children about it anyway. His daughters couldn't fight Quincy, and he knew if Ichigo found out, he would try to go to Soul Society in Urahara's homemade senkaimon gate that would transfer his _kishi_ into _reishi; _he'd fight the Quincies with his bare fists if he had to.

He trusted that Urahara was right about the war not extending to the world of the living, so his children would probably never have any idea that a war was even happening. It was better that way. That's why Isshin kept quiet.

And he'd returned home, to try to start the day as normally as he could (possibly by kicking his son awake), only to discover that his kids already knew about the war. On top of that, Ichigo had been killed by the intruding Quincy-Arrancar. Isshin thought about what his son might be doing. No doubt trying to restore his reiryoku, or even jumping straight into the fight without an spiritual powers at all. He sighed. Sometimes, his son was a complete idiot.

And about that Quincy-Arrancar... that wasn't the Dondachakka man that Nel and Pesche were looking for, right? Isshin doubted it. He didn't think a friend of Ichigo's would kill him like that, just because they were on opposite sides of the fight. Isshin didn't know what the Quincies were doing to control the Arrancars, but it must have been powerful, because the Arrancars may just hate Quincies more than Shinigami.

Isshin decided to focus on the present instead. He pulled away from Yuzu and looked at his two daughters, perking up. "Daddy had an idea! How about we all go see a movie?!"

Yuzu gasped in excitement. Their father stood and grabbed each of their hands and dragged them out of the room.

"Dad, don't you think we should do something about Ichi-nii first?"

"Eh. I'll call the funeral home later,"

"Don't you need to call a doctor first?"

"I am a doctor!"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

She felt it while practicing swordfight with her captain. He had almost overpowered her, but she suddenly spun around, suprising her captain so that he lost his grip. "Kuchiki, what is it?"

Her gaze was fixed towards the west gate where she'd felt the familar reiastu faintly. Ukitake followed her gaze and searched for whatever it was that had captured her attention. His spirtual powers were much stronger than his fukutaicho's, so he was able to quickly pick up the faraway reiatsu. "Is that...?"

"Yes," She turned back to her captain. "I forgot to tell you about what happened before you called me in for the emergency meeting,"

"Please, tell me now,"

The both sheathed their zanpakuto and sat down on the grassy field. The wind blew each blade gently, tickling Rukia's exposed ankles. "Well, I was in the world of the living with Kiyone and Sentarou, when I felt Ichigo's reiatsu,"

Ukitake's eyes widened. "What? His powers returned?"

Rukia shrugged. "I'm not sure, but when I arrived at his house, he had been killed by an Arrancar claiming to be a Quincy. We fought, but the Quincy got away. Ichigo told me he was a part of the Wandenreich, trying to recruit Ichigo and his sisters,"

Ukitake was deep in thought. Arrancars, working for Quincies? That was unexpected. They hadn't heard any of that at the meeting. Did the Arrancars have anything to do with the kidnapping of human souls? "Kuchiki, did the man try to capture Ichigo-kun's soul? Yamamoto-sensei told us that the Quincies were holding human souls prisoner,"

"He said that originally, the Quincy only tried to get him to join their army, but when he was killed, the Quincy tried to kill his soul, saying he couldn't let the shinigami take him,"

It made sense. The Quincies obviously knew Kurosaki Ichigo's potential and wouldn't want someone like him fighting against them. But, did that mean they saw a way for Ichigo to regain that immense power?

Rukia opened her mouth to continue, but another much stronger force made her freeze. Ukitake did as well, turning his attention to the new reiatsu... or, better said, multiple reiatsus. Immediately afterward, the taicho and fukutaicho of Squad 13 quickly got to their feet at the sound of a large explosion.

"That's over by Squad 6,"

"They must know that nii-sama and Renji aren't back yet," Rukia said as the two began to shunpo towards the sounds of more explosions and fighting, Sentarou and Kiyone close behind.

Suddenly, Rukia stopped, turning towards the direction of Ichigo's reiatsu. "Taicho, Ichigo's about to be in the midst of battle-"

"Go," The white-haired captain ordered. Rukia looked back at him, worry etched into her pupils. He knew how much the two friends cared for each other, and as far as he could tell, Kurosaki's spiritual powers were no match for a Quincy at the moment. "I'm sure there will be plenty of other shinigami heading to Squad 6 right now, and it's important that you protect him. Go on," He repeated.

The small raven haired girl nodded and disappeared in a flash.

Ukitake focused his attention on moving more quickly. The Quincies had arrived. The battle was beginning. In his mind, he prayed that the shinigami would be a match for their intruding opponents, but doubt still clouded the edge of his thoughts. The soutaicho had sounded so desperate...

Whatever the case, Ukitake would fight his hardest. No matter how strong the Quincies were, no matter how bad his health was, he would fight to protect Seireitei at all costs. He resolved this long ago, but it resurfaced in his mind everytime he drew his zanpakuto:

_ I will protect what I love, even at the expense of my life._

He was glad Kurosaki Ichigo had shown up. Even if he didn't know the boy too well personally, he knew that he was the kind of man that would never give up in a fight. If he could get his reiryoku back...

"He may be Soul Society's savior yet again,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

so... what does everyone think so far?

Also I want to know who you really want to see fight in the war because of course I'm not gonna show every battle that comes up... I'm flexible about who fights whom.


	6. Back to Earth

Thank you! : _Vail Ryuketsu, eXLuSiivE, popjack, Grimjaww, hunter2424, Nightfire237, _and _Furudere!_

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"Hm hm-hm hm-hm, hm-hm hm hmmm hm hm-hm-hm-hm..." The auburn-haired girl hummed as she strolled along the residential streets of Karakura Town, lost in her own little world. She had her hands behind her back, and she skipped a little with each step. Her mind had wandered so far from what her eyes were seeing, that she would have run straight into a pole if a pair of large, tan hands hadn't stopped her.

"Inoue, it'd be best for you if you payed attention to your surroundings,"

Inoue Orihime blinked as her mind resurfaced, her attention now focused on the large mexican boy in front of her. "Oh, Sado-kun!" She rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry about that! I heard this great new song and I was trying to remember the tune for later,"

"What song?"

"That's the thing; I'm not sure. But I have the chorus memorized! Do you want to hear it?" She clasped her hands together, her blue eyes sparkling.

Chad scratched his head, trying to figure out a way to tell her no and not upset her. "Um, that's alright, Inoue. I'm sure it's a great song,"

To his relief, Orihime nodded in agreement. "Are you going to Kurosaki-kun's house too?"

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. And you are too?"

"Mmm-hmm," She took off her backpack and opened it up to reveal that it was chock-full of hard bread. "I was going to share the leftover bread from the bakery! They always give it to me. I think Kurosaki-kun likes bread. Plus, he wasn't at school today, so I wanted to see if something was wrong,"

Chad nodded, him being a man of few words.

"Oh!" Orihime looked around. "We're near Ishida-kun's house! Let's go invite him, too!" Without waiting for a response, she zipped up her pack and started joyfully walking in the other direction she had come from, the same direction Chad was going. "I've noticed that Ishida-kun and Kurosaki-kun are becoming better friends. And what better way to celebrate friendship than with-" She whipped out a bun. "-bread!"

"Inoue, where did you get that? You're bag was closed..." Chad trailed off as Orihime bit into the bun, forgetting to answer his question. They walked in silence the short distance to Ishida Uryuu's home, and when it was in sight, Orihime giddily bounded up the steps, Chad not far behind with his long strides.

She knocked five times and waited patiently with her hands behind her back.

Chad decided to break the silence. "Inoue, when we crossed paths back there, you were going in the opposite direction of Ichigo's house,"

"Hmm?" She placed a finger to her pink lips, thinking back to what happened. "Oh, yeah! I guess I was so distracted that I missed the turn! Oops!" She laughed a little.

One thing Chad would never understand about the girl next to him was her ability to daydream so easily and frequently.

Orihime knocked again, this time a little bit louder. She stared at the door expectantly, thinking it should open any second and she would get so suprised, that she'd drop her bread and it would spill all over Uryuu's front porch, but he wouldn't be mad, in fact he'd-

"I don't think Ishida is home," Chad said in his deep voice. "He always answers the door very quickly,"

"Maybe he's taking a shower," Orihime hadn't lost hope yet.

The two of them, mostly to appease Orihime, waited another five minutes and knocked a total of 35 more times (all of which were done by Orihime). Finally, after still more silence, she agreed to ask him some other time and continue on to Ichigo's house.

The Kurosaki Clinic seemed less lively than usual. There were no cars parked outside and no sounds coming from within.

"That's odd," Orihime said after she'd knocked 11 times with no reply. "Usually at least Yuzu or Karin is home,"

"Maybe they went somewhere. The car is gone," Chad pointed to where Isshin's small car was usually parked, but the spot was empty.

"Oh! You're right, Sado-kun!," She sighed. "That's too bad. I was hoping at least one of them would be available. Would you like some bread?"

Chad declined. Politely.

"Alright then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school, neh?"

Chad agreed.

Once Orihime was alone again, she let her thoughts wander. She knew Ichigo almost never got sick. All his absences had something to do with the shinigami or something shinigami-related. It made her feel a little hopeful about Ichigo's whereabouts. Despite the danger he often had put himself into, Orihime still wanted him to be happy. And she knew he'd have that happiness as a shinigami, with the other shinigami. With...

Her happy thoughts started to fade a little. She hated feeling this way. Jealousy. It felt like she had her own hollow inside of her, making her feel that way whenever she thought of Rukia. It was terrible. On the outside, she was Rukia's friend. But on the inside, that monster wanted Rukia to leave.

When Ichigo had lost his reiryoku, Orihime had been ashamed to admit to herself that it made her feel better. It suppressed that monster inside and made her feel more comfort, to know that he'd be safe. But it also made her feel better to know that she and Ichigo could have the chance to grow closer. And she tried _really _hard... but his heart just wasn't really in it anymore. He often wanted to be alone, or he'd have a hard time paying attention to the people around him.

It made the monster come back.

Many nights alone, she'd cry to herself about how horrible she was being. First she was kind of glad that Rukia and Ichigo could no longer be together, but then she was upset by it because Ichigo was upset. Did it even make sense?

Orihime sighed, losing her train of thought. She slowly walked up to where her appartment was, and almost jumped out of her skin when she saw a man sitting on the railing by her door, a striped hat covering his eyes and a cane in hand.

"Oh! Urahara-san! I didn't expect to see you here. Um, would you like to come in?"

Urahara whipped out his fan and placed it in front of his face, lifting his head slightly to look at Orihime. "Yes 3,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

Orihime gripped in hem of her skirt as she knelt on the ground, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. "Wh.. What?"

"I'm sorry, Inoue-san. But at least we know he's okay,"

Orihime wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Ichigo... was dead?

"He's most likely going to try and fight in the Quincy vs. Shinigami war quickly approaching. And on the note of war," Urahara adjusted his hat. "I want you and Sado-san to join me,"

Orihime was more confused than ever. She hadn't heard about this Quincy vs. Shinigami war until now, and it scared her. She had many shinigami friends, but Ishida was also her friend. But he was a Quincy. Orihime was on the Shinigami's side, but she knew for certain she couldn't fight Ishida no matter what he did. "What do you need Sado-kun and I for?"

Urahara started fanning his face. "I was visited by two lovely Arrancars that I think you may know: Nel-chan and Pesche-san,"

Orhime nodded.

"Hueco Mundo has been captured by the Quincies," He ignored her gasp and continued. "All of the shinigami will be focused on the large scale battle in Seireitei, so a few of us who aren't in the Gotei-13 are going to drive the Quincies out of Hueco Mundo,"

"Who else?"

He smiled. "Oh, you know. Yoruichi, Jinta, Ururu, Tessai... maybe some _Espada..._" Orihime's reaction made his grin grow even further.

"But what espada besides Nel-chan? The rest fought against us!" She knew only a few of the Espada had survived the Winter War, but none of them seemed to be willing to work with the Shinigami, even if it meant getting their home back. She waited for a response from the shady inventor, but his only reply was more fan waving.

"Urahara-san, have you talked to Sado-kun yet?"

"I'm about to,"

She nodded, thinking about the situation. She was never good in wars, but she had amazing time-reversing capabilities to heal any injury, or, in one case, to bring back the dead. The way this war sounded, Orhime knew there would be a lot of people to heal. Often, since she hated seeing people suffer, she would end up healing the enemy, maybe hoping that her kindness would rub off on them. But would she do that in this battle?

"Um... Urahara-san?"

"Yes?"

"Do.. do you know where Ishida-kun is?"

Urahara finally broke eye contact with Orihime. She wished she hadn't seen it, but she noticed his smile faltered a bit. It made heart begin to pound more than it already had been, scared of what she might hear. In fact, now that she looked for it... she couldn't feel Ishida's reiatsu. Maybe her imagination was being more active than usual, but if Ishida's fate was like Ichigo's-

He looked at her once again. "I do,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

So I just finished watching Toradora last night... THE FEELS. I cried so hard...

If you haven't seen that anime before, YOU MUST WATCH IT! Seriously, I think that's my current favorite right now.


	7. The First Strike

_Wayward Love, khira47, jjedipro, and Erdrick117 _- Thank you so much!

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

Ichigo hadn't even gotten past the buildings in the outskirts of Seireitei before a pulsing reiatsu caused him to lost his balance. An extremely strong force had just entered on the other side of Seireitei. Despite its strength, the force of the reiatsu shouldn't have bothered him like that, but he reminded himself that he was on a lower level than unranked shinigami reiryoku-wise at the moment.

He began to run faster, one path clear in his mind. As he was running, he passed by a rack with unused katanas. He felt the familiarity of holding a sword, but the weight was much different than his old shikai. Ignoring that fact and thanking the heavens that he had a sword for defence, he continued running.

The numerous large reiatsus were bothering him more and more the closer he got to the center of Seireitei. I hope I can get to Squad 1 before the battle extends to the center. If his poor directional skills were miraculously correct, he'd guess that the invasion had started around where Byakuya's division was: Squad 6. He felt better about that; Byakuya had one heck of a bankai.

He was so close that it surprised him that he'd run that far without being completely worn out. He thought he might be lucky, that he might be able to get his powers back and start fighting before the day was up, but another large group of reiatsus appeared to his left, not very far away. It may have been because they were closer, but Ichigo was certain that their reiatsu was stronger.

No no no no no! I have to make it! I just have to run faster!

Out of nowhere, a girl appeared in front of Ichigo, causing him to quickly stop. The force of the skid still caused him to ram right into the girl, both falling to the ground.

Ichigo blinked, realizing he was probably crushing the tiny girl. He tried to get up, but a latch on her coat was stuck to his shirt.

"Ah.., sorry," He said, his face bright red.

The young girl was staring at him intensely with super-green eyes. Ichigo wondered why until he realized the position they were in- in the middle of the street on top of that- and his blush deepened.

The girl giggled. "But we've only just met, shinigami-boy,"

Ichigo frantically tried to get up, the coat latchet still deeply caught in his shirt. Suddenly, he was on his butt and the girl was standing diagonal from him, dusting off her white coat. When he looked down, he noticed a tear in his shirt where the latchet had been.

"Hu-"

"Hmm. So Kurosaki Ichigo decided to join the fight after all. Lucky me," Her voice was high pitched and perky. "I get to be the one to pulverize him," She finished dusting off her clothes and starting combing through her short blonde hair with her tiny fingers.

To Ichigo, she didn't looked like the type of girl who would be a blood-thirsty killer. Then again, he'd learned that looks can be quite deceiving. He stood up, wielding his katana. "How do you know me?"

The girl glanced at his sword, and her smile grew, as if she thought the sword was something adorable. "Oh, come on. How many shinigami are there with orange hair?" She waved her hand at Ichigo, then pointed at his head, answering her own question. "One- you,"

Ichigo was tired of hearing that. "That's not right," The girl rolled her eyes playfully, looking off to the side while she combed through her hair. "There aren't any shinigami with orange hair... because I'm not a shinigami yet!"

He ran at her with his katana raised and struck her. She stepped back in surprise when she felt the blade cut her shoulder, blood soaking her white uniform. "I just got this dry-cleaned!" She dodged Ichigo's next strike, and the next after that. He swung his sword with deadly accuracy again, but only sliced through thin air.

"Maybe I had my headphones in and heard incorrectly..." Ichigo spun around at the sound of the girl's voice. "...but I thought you'd be stronger than that," She was standing five feet behind him, as if she'd shunpo-ed.

But how? Ichigo vaguely remembered a technique that Ishida had talked about, something Quincies used that was similar to the shinigami's shunpo.

"Who are you? You're one of the Quincy, right?" The ex shinigami-daikou held his katana out in front of him, but the girl didn't even blink with the tip of the blade so close to her face.

She smiled. "Cassia Kaiser, Sternritter C: The Celerity," She curtised. "Pleased to meet'chya,"

Before Ichigo could do so much as blink, she was behind him again. He felt her reiatsu increase, and he rolled to the side just as an arrow whizzed past his head.

"Oh... I missed,"

He turned to swing at her again, but she was gone. He whipped around, but the feeling of a blade cutting skin appeared on his side. She was next to him again, no longer holding her bow; she had a smile knife.

"You asked who I am, so I'll clarify since it's clear you don't know who the Sternritter are," She dodged all of Ichigo's failed swings and slashes, speaking as she moved with lightning speed. "The Sternritter are the elite of the Wandenreich. We each get a letter after doing some, ah, interesting ritual, and a new ability,"

She swiped at Ichigo again and appeared across the street. Ichigo hugged his bleeding side for a moment before running at her, yelling. "I was assigned the letter C. You've probably noticed, but-" Ichigo's eyes widened as he fell to his knees, blood seeping from a large gash on his chest. Cassia was behind him once again, smiling."- I'm the fastest of the Sternritter,"

She tucked her knife away in one of her many pockets, facing the opposite direction from Ichigo. Cassia didn't need to look at him though. She knew she had gotten him. "I'm not fond of delivering the final blow, but to my fellow Sternritter-," She giggled. "-that's their favorite part,"

"Wait,"

She still didn't turn to look at Ichigo. He struggled to his feet, using his borrowed katana as support. "You don't know me, either. But if you did, you know I don't give up until the fight is over,"

Ignoring the pain, he swung his sword at her back, hoping to catch her by surprise again, but she merely took a step forward to avoid the tip. He felt her knife impale him again and wasn't very surprised to see the she was no longer in front of him. He fell to his knees again.

Cassia sighed, towering over Ichigo as he struggled to get up again. She pulled back the string of her glowing arrow, the tip almost touching the young man's forehead. Ichigo felt a wave of deja vu. "Shinigami never learn, do they?"

Suddenly, almost as quick as the girl's own movements, something knocked her out of the way. She fell to her hands and knees, her white skirt fluttering. Green eyes stared murderously behind her. "Hey! You-"

She was silenced when the swing of a zanpakuto almost sliced her head clean off, and it would have if she didn't have her speed ability.

"That's right. Shinigami never learn. But we aren't alone,"

Ichigo's head snapped in the direction of the familiar voice, shocked to see him standing there. The fukutaicho of 9th division's tattoo crinkled as he smirked, raising his twin-blade shikai.

"Quincy never learn either,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

Rukia had pinpointed Ichigo's reiatsu, moving around in an area not too far from the west gate. Before, he had been moving from the gates to the center of Seireitei, but for the past few minutes, she sensed that he wasn't traveling anymore. Fear gripped her heart. Had he been intercepted by a Quincy?

She moved quickly, frustrated that she was on the opposite end of Seireitei from Ichigo. To her right, new reiatsu's began appearing, locked in combat with the shinigami. She should be helping them, but she also had to help Ichigo, who probably hadn't gotten his powers back, judging by the size of his reiatsu.

While running, a sudden wave of power hit her. She stopped, staring in apprehension in the direction it came from. It was on the other side of Seireitei that the previous group of Quincies had broken in at, but this group seemed just as strong.

"No..." She began using shunpo even quicker, ignoring how her lungs stung. She was nearing where Ichigo was, and now, it was clear that he was locked in combat. The Quincy fighting him didn't seem extremely strong, so she hoped Ichigo's swordsmanship was enough to fight the Quincy off for now. Rukia felt a little more hopeful.

Suddenly, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, and on instinct, she ducked and rolled to the side. A blue arrow whizzed past her, close enough so that she could feel each particle of reishi.

"Come on," An unfamiliar voice complained.

"You'll get her next time,"

Rukia looked up to see two men in white coats standing on the rooftop above her. They both had matching white masks that completely covered their faces and long blue bows drawn in their hands. Rukia raised her zanpakuto.

"Hehe, look. She's gonna fight us," The pair of them snickered.

"She's just a kid. Doesn't stand a chance against men like us,"

Rukia stayed silent watching them laugh their heads off. "_Hadou #33: Soukatsui_,"

"Haha, this is going to be-" They stopped short, finally noticing the blue light headed straight at them. Shrieking, it was all the could do to dive out of the way just in time.

The shorter of the two men scrambled to his feet, trying to retrieve his arrow, but Rukia was already above him, slashing with her zanpakuto. She didn't wait to see if the blow killed the Quincy before shunpo-ing to the next one.

"W- wait!" He cried, firing an arrow in defense. His trembling at the sight of Rukia's serious demeanor made him miss her by a few feet, so Rukia had the perfect opportunity to strike.

Rukia used to feel guilty about killing an enemy that wasn't a hollow and couldn't bring herself to do it since the death of Kaien, her mentor and previous vice-captain. She had thought a lot about that night while she awaited her execution, wanted to die as well. However, when she thought she had come to a resolution, Ichigo showed up and destroyed the thing that was supposed to end her life. In that moment, Rukia realized just how much she wanted to live, so she could be more like all the people she admired: protectors. And after feeling comfort after apologizing to the Shiba's, Rukia realized that it was stupid of her to refuse to kill an enemy that threatened both her life and the lives of her friends.

She sheathed her zanpakuto, eyes closed as the two men disappeared into reishi behind her, becoming a part of the place they had originally tried to conquer. If Quincy were that weak... but that couldn't be the situation. There were always going to be puppies amidst the wolves.

She felt her heart slow down to normal when she felt Ichigo's reiatsu again, still in the same spot he had been before.

She stepped forward to continue towards him, but a sudden strong pulse of foreign reiatsu stopped her in her tracks, her blue eyes widening.

"Well well. This should be interesting,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"Hisagi-san!" Ichigo said.

Hisagi Shuuhei eyed the Sternritter girl as he spoke to Ichigo. "Kurosaki, I didn't expect to see you here,"

"Uh, same,"

"But I live here," Hisagi stepped closer to the girl. "Anyway, I don't know what you're thinking showing up here in the middle of a war, but some Squad 4 members are about to arrive," He finally glanced at Ichigo, who's shirt was soaked red with blood. "You'll need to go with them,"

Ichigo wanted to argue, but the pain made him stop. Of all the wounds he'd ever received (and there were a lot), he'd admit that stomach wounds were the worst. "The Quincy girl... she has superhuman speed,"

Hisagi furrowed his brow and smirked again. "Don't worry about me. _Kazeshini _is faster than it looks," With that, he threw his right blade, holding onto the chain to let it swing at the Sternritter. She stepped away, only to step right back as the blade came flying towards her again as Hisagi pulled it in.

Cassia yelled in anger and pulled out her bow, firing shots at Hisagi. To Ichigo's amazement, Hisagi used the blade of his zanpakuto to slice through the glowing blue arrows. Cassia's eye widened, beginning to feel a bit of fear of her opponent.

Ichigo watched the fight, having never seen the squad 9 lieutenant fight before. He'd heard he was a prodigy, earning a seat in the Gotei-13 even before graduating from the Academy. It was new for Ichigo to watch a dual-blade battle, but it interested him, the way he could focus on both at the same time.

"Kurosaki-san!"

Ichigo was pulled out of the battle as four fourth division members took hold of him, shunpo-ing away. "Hey! Hold on- ow.." Yelling had caused his pain to worsen, so it shut him up while they carried him towards the first division.

"We're sorry for the hurry, Kurosaki-san, but we have many people to treat," One of the men said. He looked anxious, like he was worried they'd be attacked while they carried him away. Ichigo had been aided by Hanatarou, a kid from fourth division. Hanatarou had told Ichigo that Squad 4 members had little combat skills. And with five guys that could barely defend themselves, they probably looked like a light snack for the Quincies.

Finally, they set him down on the floor in the first division's main building, beginning to treat him the moment his injured back touched the ground. He never liked being treated by anything except Inoue's _Souten Kishun_, because everything else was painful. Luckily, the men were skilled healers, and the process was over in just a few minutes.

"We're glad you're back, Kurosaki-san," The men bowed.

Ichigo slowly sat up, most of the pain gone, and looked around the room. "I"m going back out. Where's my katana?"

"I will not allow that, Kurosaki Ichigo," A new voice, grave and rumbling, stopped everyone in their tracks.

"Good morning, Yamamoto-soutaicho!" The four men standing bowed to the captain commander hurriedly.

Yamamoto turned to them, ignoring their display of respect. "Go heal the others. I'll make sure the boy doesn't leave," The men nodded and disappeared.

Ichigo tried to stand up again. "Hold up, jii-san-" The wind was knocked out of the oranged-haired boy as the end of the soutaicho's cane whacked him in the chest. Ichigo fell back down, hugging his stomach. "Oh, _I think my wounds reopened_..."

"Which is exactly why you are staying right here," Yamamoto said sternly. "You will be killed for certain if you try to fight,"

"But people are getting killed out there, and I'm just lying here on the ground like an invalid! I have a katana, and I still have my swordsmanship skills-"

"I don't care what you say, Kurosaki Ichigo!" The soutaicho yelled, his reiatsu rising scarily, the room seeming to get hotter. Ichigo shrunk back, never having seen the soutaicho's anger rise so quickly. "No amount of raw swordsmanship is enough to beat a Quincy," He started to walk out of the room, not waiting to see if Ichigo would try to get up again. "I'm sealing the doors so the Wandenreich will have a harder time getting in if they try,"

"And if they do get in?"

"Then that is when you can try to prove to everyone that you can beat a Quincy with a katana. Good day," The captain commander left the room, shutting the door forcefully, leaving the room somewhat darker when the door was sealed shut.

Ichigo wanted to yell, or hit something, but his injuries made him stay on the floor. He couldn't believe it. He'd told himself that he'd come to first company and regain his powers so he could join in the battle. And here he was, probably one of the most useless people in Seireitei, just lying on the floor while shinigami died all around him. He didn't know exactly how strong the Quincy were, but by the sounds he heard and the foreign reiatsu's he felt, Ichigo could tell they weren't just some low-level humans picking a fight and hoping to win.

Even though he knew he couldn't keep everyone in Seireitei from getting injured, Ichigo knew that if he even only had half his old power, he'd be able to wipe out plenty of the Quincies. He tended to have a habit of going into depression mode when someone got injured because he was unable to protect them, and it occurred to him that only a certain raven-haired midget could cure his sadness. She was somewhere inside the gigantic walls of Seireitei, maybe even fighting for her life, or worse...

No. Ichigo had to have faith in her, because she was stronger than that; Rukia would constantly tell him herself that he didn't need to protect her. But, that was different when he still had the option. Now, Rukia might not even need to release her shikai to beat Ichigo in a spar.

He searched the air for the familiar feeling of her reiatsu, but nothing came to him. He started to panic, searching for any others, but nothing came up. When the captain commander had said he would seal Ichigo in this room, he hadn't just meant the door. The room was sealed off from spiritual pressure as well. If that was the case, then that meant no one outside could feel his own tiny reiatsu.

An idea formulated in the boy's mind. Since becoming a normal soul, he hadn't once tried to talk to Zangetsu. His spiritual powers had begun to return, so he hoped that meant Zangetsu was still with him, inside his inner world.

Not wanting to waste another moment, Ichigo sat up and sat cross-legged, setting his katana on his lap and his hands over the blade in an attempt to meditate, something he never was good at. But in a room by himself in the semi-darkness, meditation become considerably easier, and he found himself on a building in a familiar position: sideways.

Ichigo quickly grabbed a window sill to ensure that he wouldn't possibly plunge to the ground of his inner world. He blinked his brown eyes a few times at the adjustment to sunlight, searching the area for a dark figure.

He noticed that the town was still in its smaller form, the usual skyscrapers nowhere in sight. The last time Ichigo had been in his inner world was when he'd learned the Final Getsuga Tenshou. Then, the city had been completely submerged in water, looking gloomy and dark. This time, however, the level of water only rose to the first floor of all the buildings. Ichigo knew that it represented his despair, and thinking about all that rain water made him feel guilty.

"Zangetsu? Oussan?" Ichigo called out, still gripping the windowsill. He let go, realizing that he wasn't going to fall, and stood up to get a better view, the katana, now strapped to his belt, bumping against his leg. The town seemed desolate.

"Zangetsu-oussan?!" He tried to think of a way to find the old man, when he remembered the first time he came to his inner world. Zangetsu had told him to find him, and hundreds of boxes fell around him. Ichigo had used a technique Ishida used; searching for the red spirit ribbon, representing a shinigami. The same red ribbon had lead Ichigo to his zanpakuto the first time.

Ichigo closed his eyes, searching for the ribbons. In the world of the living, there were many different spirit ribbons connecting things, due to the higher reishi density and spiritual beings in Karakura Town. Now, as he concentrated, he found only one ribbon; it was red. He reached out and grabbed it as it appeared in front of him, fluttering in the open air.

"Zangetsu!" Ichigo, with his hand still around the ribbon, starting running down the side of the building until he hit the water. It rose a few feet above his head, and he momentarily panicked.

_How unsightly... You should be able to breathe._

That's what Tensa Zangetsu had told him last time, so Ichigo took a big breath and wasn't surprised when oxygen filled his lungs instead of water. With the ribbon still in his hand, he began half-swimming, half-running in the direction that it lead. The farther he went, the more he realized that the town his was in resembled Karakura Town. Though he'd only been away from it for a day, the familiar streets made him feel nostalgic. It was a life he'd never have again.

He realized where the the spirit ribbon was leading him, and his guess was confirmed when he stopped in front of his home. Minus the water, it looked exactly as it did in the world of the living; Ichigo didn't hesitate to run inside.

The front room and kitchen were submerged in water as well, furniture floating all around the room and occasionally bumping into each other. The spirit ribbon lead to the stairs. Ichigo quickly moved over to them, emerging on the surface of the water halfway up.

Following the trail with his eyes, he saw the ribbon disappear under the crack in his closed bedroom door, so he decided Zangetsu was inside. Taking a deep breath, Ichigo took the steps one at a time and slowly turned the doorknob, too many feelings welling up in his chest.

He didn't know what he'd say to his zanpakuto. He felt like he'd abandoned Zangetsu since his zanpakuto didn't want to teach Ichigo the Final Getsuga Tenshou in the first place, knowing Ichigo would lose his powers as a result. Yet he'd done it anyway. Even after feeling regret for a year and a half, Ichigo knew it was the only way that Aizen could've been defeated, and giving up his shinigami powers seemed a small price to pay if it meant the worlds would be saved from Aizen.

None of his worries about seeing Zangetsu mattered though, because when Ichigo tried to open the door, he couldn't; it was locked. Slightly frustrated, he began twisting the knob harder, but of course, nothing happened.

He resorted to kicking the door instead.

"Why is this thing locked, anyway?! Hey, Oussan?! Are you in there?!" He waited for a reply, but inside his bedroom, it was completely silent. Growling in frustration, he searched for another way to open a locked door. It had happened before, when Rukia had thought it'd be funny to lock him out. But in the end, she'd opened it for him after he banged on the door for a good half hour. So that scenerio wasn't much help.

He thought about using the katana strapped to his belt, but decided it wasn't strong enough to break through a door. He'd probably end up breaking the sword and injuring his hands.

His father's words echoed in his mind, telling his children a bunch of seemingly pointless safety precautions and rules. He remembered that in an emergency, there was an ax in Isshin's room. Ichigo didn't know what kind of emergency his dad was thinking of, but it turned out he was right; it would be useful.

After retrieving the ax from his dad's dirty closet, he planted his feet in the ground in front of his bedroom door. He felt a little exhilaration when he pulled back the weapon and swung, making a sickening, splintery crack in his bedroom door. It felt good to be swinging some kind of weapon again, so Ichigo began hitting the door with more force until a large hole had opened up. Carefully setting the ax on the ground to lean against the white wall, he reached his hand in the hole and unlocked the door.

He stared at the doorknob, his hand feeling heavier as he reached out to twist the brass handle. _This is stupid, _he told himself. Was he feeling nervous? It was just Zangetsu. After all they'd been through, he couldn't imagine the old man being mad at Ichigo. So instead of opening the door slowly, Ichigo swung it open and ran inside.

Blue light spilled out everywhere, along with a gush of winds, seemingly flowing into Ichigo as he instinctively raised his arm to cover his face slightly. "Oussan?"

Ichigo stopped in his tracks when he saw the old man standing in front of the barred-up window, his gaze fixed on something past the metal rods. By the way he didn't stir at all, Ichigo wondered if he even heard the commotion.

"Zangetsu-oussan?"

"Ichigo," The old man's voice was quiet and rumbling, but still sounded strong and confident. "So you've come back,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

Reviews are appreciated! And I'm so thankful for the reviews I've received! They really help me keep writing!


	8. Two Blades of a Kind

Well, I'm happy. You wanna know why? Because last chapter got me the most followers I've had since the first chapter! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this because I sure as heck am! (I'm a little over excited lol)

Thank you to those people: _Flamehog, merry1995, Lilith Jae, Nichica, Death Sender, Shinigamidemidragonslayer99, Fangking2, Mai96, xxSirenxx, Chick1966, Chibi y Hini, Drkdragonz66, _and _Unwavering Heart._

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"Well well. This should be interesting,"

Quicker than a flashstep, Rukia whipped out her zanpakuto, directing it towards the new Quincy standing in front of her.

She was tall and slender with short, choppy blonde hair that was dyed black only on part of the right side. Just like the other two Quincies, she was wearing all white, except she had a trench coat on. It made her look more official, and judging by the strength of her reiatsu, Rukia knew she was on a whole other level from the two dead Quincies.

The woman got right to talking. "So you're a fukutaicho, eh?" She opened her mouth obnoxiously wide with each word, sounding very forceful. Rukia could only furrow her brows and take a firm stance.

"Guess I got lucky. I didn't know they gave little girls that badge. Soul Society must be desperate,"

Rukia ignored her words, but she really hated it when people bagged on her abilities. She'd worked really hard to earn her position. "Why have you invaded the Seireitei?"

The Quincy grinned and looked at the sky. "Che. You're too serious. Even your stance looks too rigid. You'll never win a fight like that, kid,"

Uneasily, Rukia glanced down at herself. Her grip _was _tight, her knees locked in their position. The Quincy was right; she needed to loosen up.

"Of course, I have spiritual pressure much like a shinigami captain's," She boasted. "So you'd hardly stand a chance. I doubt you've ever fought a captain-class enemy, much less beaten one,"

It was true; even the Espada, Aaroneiro, was not as strong as a captain. What chance did she have against a Quincy this powerful?

"Give up now, shinigami-chan. You won't be able to land a single blow on me,"

Rukia lowered her sword ever so slightly.

The Quincy seemed amused, running her black painted fingers through her hair. "That's the spirit. It's better to realize you've been defeated before the fight has begun. It'll save everyone some trouble,"

Defeat...

_ Is this Quincy right?_

_ Am I worthy of being called a fukutaicho? Do I have the ability?_

_ Am I really giving up?_

Out of nowhere, a sword came swinging at Rukia's face, and she was forced to block it with her own blade.

_What am I saying? Didn't I want to be more like nii-sama, Renji, and Ichigo? None of them would give up so easily!_

Rukia pushed the Quincy back with her snow-white zanpakuto. The woman smiled deviously, and suddenly, Rukia's arms grew weak, her blade seeming to weigh more.

_Put me down, Rukia. _Sode no Shirayuki's ice-cold voice called to Rukia. _You're only going to hurt me. _

"I... I would never!" Rukia stuttered, looking at her zanpakuto in worry. She'd seen zanpakutos get broken, and she wouldn't be able to bear her own being destroyed. _If Sode no Shirauki was worried about that, then shouldn't I stop? What chance do I have if my own soul is telling me to quit?_

Rukia's shoulder exploded in pain. Now that their blades weren't touching, her foggy mind cleared. With wide eyes, she stared at her left shoulder, the Quincy's sword deeply cutting into her flesh. It was quickly yanked out, causing Rukia to cry out in pain as hot red blood spurted from the wound.

"Hmm. I could've gone farther, but you wouldn't have been able to handle it and still fight. Your will isn't very strong,"

Rukia tried to raise her sword with both hands, but she couldn't move her left arm, barely attached to her body. Her mind was fuzzy from the pain, but there was something else as well.

The Quincy's words were affecting Rukia more than she'd like.

Growing up in the Rukongai, she was constantly scolded by adults, telling her she was a worthless, theiving rat. Even when she was adopted into the Kuchiki clan, other shinigami would whisper bad things about her, like how she didn't deserve her position or her noble rank. Even Byakuya, her own brother, never gave her a single compliment for the longest time.

All those insults, she'd endured and ignored. But this Quincy who didn't even know her, was making Rukia feel as bad about herself as she did during her imprisonment, reflecting on her actions before her planned execution. What made things worse was that everything the Quincy said was something Rukia had once wondered herself.

She had to ignore it to win this fight.

She raised her zanpakuto with one hand.

"Dance, _Sode no Shirayuki_,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"Ichigo," Zangetsu said tonelessly. "So you've come back,"

The orange-haired teen nodded, even though his zanpakuto wouldn't see it. He searched for the words to tell Zangetsu how overwhelmed he felt then. "Oussan, I'm glad you didn't disappear with Mugetsu. I thought I'd lost my shinigami powers... and my zanpakuto," He added.

Zangetsu chose to say nothing, still gazing out the window.

Ichigo had too many questions to let the silence last. "Why did you tell me that I'd lose my powers if I used the Final Getsuga Tenshou?"

He waited for a response that Zangetsu didn't supply until after a moment of quiet contemplation. "Don't you remember what I told you?" He finally turned to the ex shinigami-daikou, fixing him with a half-lidded gaze. "The things I want to protect are not the same things you want to protect,"

"But... what were you trying to protect me from? My powers were locked up after that. I couldn't protect others without them,"

"But you were protected,"

Ichigo shook his head. "I was killed because I couldn't protect even myself. My sisters were almost kidnapped. How is that protection?

Zangetsu's shoulders sagged ever so slightly, as if a large burden was placed upon them. He seemed so tired, having been locked up for over a year, and Ichigo saw that his words were making his weariness grow. He didn't want to hurt his zanpakuto anymore, but he needed to know so many things, mostly pertaining to what the Arrancar had told him and the war he'd just witnessed.

"I'm sorry, oussan. I know you just wanted what's best for me," Zangetsu looked up at Ichigo with a look he couldn't place. "But the one who knows my needs the most, is me. I need your help. We need to work together again, because being a shinigami is my life now. There's no getting around it,"

Zangetsu chose to be silent again, irritating the short-tempered redhead. He clenched his fists to try to maintain his temper, but he was frusterated at his zanpakuto for not wanting to cooperate at a time of need.

Ichigo heard his zanpakuto sigh. He looked up to meet his own brown eyes with Zangetsu's shaded eyes. "Ichigo," He said. "Do you know how most shinigami get their zanpakutos?"

Feeling like they might be getting somewhere, Ichigo shook his head.

"Once they have graduated from the Academy, a shinigami is given an ordinary katana. By using the katana to train, their reiryoku is fused into the blade, forming an alliance with the katana, and creating a soul within it. That is how a zanpakuto is formed. Most shinigami's sealed zanpakutos look similar to the one you are currently holding,"

"When Rukia transferred her powers to me, I already had a zanpakuto, only it was in permanent shikai state,"

"That's because your spiritual powers are too much for you to contain. With you level of reiryoku, there is no way you could seal your zanpakuto; that is, unless you learned how to control you reiatsu better," The old man sad.

Ichigo shoved his hands in his pockets. "I've tried. I can't supress them,"

Zangetsu seemed unconcerned. He pointed a long, pale finger at the katana in Ichigo's possession. "Either way, by pouring your power into that ordinary katana you found, you could create a new zanpakuto; I'd have a new form,"

"But you'd still be Zangetsu, right?"

Zangetsu simply nodded.

Ichigo thought this through. Zangetsu would have a new form... He supposed it was because his first zanpakuto was formed on partially borrowed powers. Pulling out the black katana, he took in the design that would soon become his new zanpakuto. It had a black hilt with a small red diamond design down the center of both sides, an inky black chain about a foot long trailing behind the end of the sword. Tensa Zangetsu had been a completely black bankai that seemed to suit Ichigo, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointment when he saw the actually blade was the normal steel color. He reminded himself that this was just the sealed state of his soon-to-be zanpakuto.

Ichigo gripped the sword with two hands, looking towards Zangetsu. "How do I do this? I can't control my reiryoku, so I don't know how I'd pour it into this katana,"

"Ichigo. There was a trick Shiba Ganju taught you so you could control your spiritual powers better,"

Memories of his first time entering Soul Society flooded into his mind. Disregarding the fact that he had technically been entering illegally, he thought of the two Shiba siblings: Kukaku and Ganju. "Ah. The black circle. Thanks for reminding me, oussan," It was a trick Ganju taught him so he'd be able to control his reiatsu in the _reisyukaku_ that the ryoka had used to break through the protective aerial barriers of the Seireitei.

Thinking of moving towards that dark black circle stamped into his mind, he felt his spirit powers rising to the surface of his soul. Ganju had told him this was the basis to all kidou, the demon arts. Ichigo was very uneducated in that field, but he knew it had something to do with condensing your reiryoku to use it as a defensive or offensive spell. In fact, he himself had been bound by a kido spell once... the same night he became a shinigami.

He felt a sudden burst of reiatsu. The more he thought of his lost abilities, the more they seemed to come back to him. He thought of Rukia's zanpakuto passing through his heart and the immediate surge of power he'd felt as the dust cleared, revealing a scowling teenage boy clad in a shihakusho, a sword as long as he was tall resting on his shoulder. He thought of the confidence he'd received, knowing his family, friends, and the wandering souls of the deceased would no longer have to fear the relentless hollows searching for their next victim.

He thought of the day he'd met a shinigami stronger than him; the day that Byakuya and Renji came to arrest Rukia; the first day since receiving his powers that he'd felt true despair as he lay on the ground, drained of his reiryoku and bleeding to death in the rain. But then he remembered his resolve when he'd learned he could get powers of his own and save the one that saved him first.

More events flooded his mind. His battles with various members of the Gotei-13, earning his bankai, saving Rukia and destroying the soukyouku. With each new memory, he felt a bit more power flooding out of his heart as if it was coming from the bottom of a deep, thick ocean.

Becoming a Visored; battling the Arrancar; feeling the first ounce of sympathy after defeating an opponent. The memory of the end of the Winter War played slower in his mind. He thought he should've been more surprised when his father revealed to him that he had shinigami blood; that Kurosaki Isshin had been a captain of the Gotei-13. It hadn't surprised him though, because he felt like he saw it coming. And his father had told him of something that would lead to some of the most somber moments of Ichigo's young life; learning the Final Getsuga Tenshou, and using it to defeat Aizen, all the while knowing that when the enemy was down, he was too.

But hope of his new powers brought him back to reality, and he realized just how much his spirit energy had grown. It felt much like it had when he went to defeat Aizen, if not more. He tried to steady it, focusing again on moving towards the large black circle that had been pushed to the back of his mind. Ichigo slanted his eyes to look at his katana, now glowing blue and feeling warm to the touch and heavy in his hands.

"Ichigo," Zangetsu said solemnly. "You can release now,"

He did. A rush of winds blew the air around him, the blue glow slowly fading, melting into his black katana. When the light was gone, the shinigami was holding a new weapon very different from both the katana and his old zanpakuto.

In each hand, he held a blade, both melded in a different fashion. In his right hand was a long blade, the kind he was used to. The hilt had no guard, and the long cleaver had a thin opening in the center. His left hand was holding a very short blade, less than half the length of the other. Its hilt was a hole much like the hole in the right blade, one side of the whole being cylinder-like and wrapped in black cloth.

His reaction to the new shikai was a little delayed.

"Whoa. It looks nothing like my old zanpakuto," He observed the blades, stating the obvious.

"The source of your power is different. Last time, your own shinigami powers were awakened through Kuchiki Rukia's power being inserted into your soul. The second time was Urahara's doing, through the process of Hollowfication to reawaken your inner shinigami powers. It is all your doing now. This is your true power, Ichigo,"

While Zangetsu spoke, Ichigo weighed each blade in his hand. Despite the obvious size difference, neither blade felt heavier. He did notice the feeling of the power coming from each blade. The longer one was familiar, his own reiatsu pouring out of the tip. But the smaller cleaver was different. It wasn't any of his reiryoku that he'd felt before, but it didn't make him wonder; he knew he'd just unlocked his true power, and much of it had been hidden deep inside him.

He took each blade and swung them, expecting it to feel weird because of the difference in his old zanpakuto's shikai state. However, the feeling of having a blade in each hand felt more right, like he held more power. He swung around a few times, attacking invisible enemies in the air, almost slashing through the thin walls of his tiny bedroom.

"Oi. You seem to have lost your touch... King,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

Hmm... Who was that woman Rukia was fighting? Curious... (wink wink)

So this is the farthest I've ever gotten in a fanfiction (well, this was only my second fanfic, _but still_). I'm so glad for the support I've received in this, otherwise I would've stopped writing this awhile ago and moved onto something else! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU I'M JUST A REALLY HAPPY PERSON RIGHT NOW :D

I "advertised" this story on my other Bleach fanfic, _The Confession Bet. _I'm only two chapters in on that one, but if you want to check it out, here's the link:

s/10566398/1/The-Confession-Bet

Anyway, if you'd like to review, go on ahead. If not, that's just as fine :) Just know that I love all 61 of you!


	9. Reappearances

Hi everyone- I'm just going to apologize now for any mistakes in this chapter (or just rushed writing) School starts in two weeks for me- _SO CLOSE- _and I STILL have not done my summer reading assignments!

And to bug you one last time (haha... not really) I just want to mention again my other Bleach fanfic, **The Confession Bet. **(yes, I just bolded that) I've been slacking on this fic _because _of that one (well, and other stuff), so if you want to check it out... it's just basically crack humor. Maybe not so far as _crack_, but still. It's a quick read.

Alright, back to the norm: Thank you to these people: _Darkaggie, king of the lion, , vanilla Pen, GeneralLazyBoy, Joseph D. Hale, Crimsonmyst, PhantomShard, DukeScarlet, laughingspider, Negima Uzumaki, CuteFoxSage-NightShadeOwl, _and _Captainbean006. _Your follows/favorites mean so much to me 3

and onward.

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"Oi. You seem to have lost your touch... King,"

Ichigo whipped around, unintentionally giving the space in front of him a would-be mortal wound. The warbling voice he'd heard made him angry, and he'd almost hoped his eyes and ears were playing tricks on him. "You," He accused. "I thought you'd be gone now that I'm using all my own power,"

Ichigo's mirror hollow-self raised a pale eyebrow. "Oh? But I'm a part of your soul. I don't disappear until _you _disappear, King," He grinning maliciously, his blue tinted tongue slightly sticking out at Ichigo in a very mature way.

The orange-haired shinigami turned his head begrudgingly. "I don't want to use you anymore,"

"Don't you now?" His warbling laugh made Ichigo's eardrums vibrate, hating the sound of the hollow that he didn't even want. The white-haired soul shunpo-ed next to Ichigo. "Well, then I guess you won't be needing these," Before he could react, the hollow swiped the blades from Ichigo's unsuspecting hands and disappeared a couple meters away in a flash.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Following your desire, King. You said you didn't want to use me, so I took myself away,"

The teenage boy wasn't in the mood for games; he had his power, so he wanted to use it to stop the war raging around his dormant soul meditating in the first division. With a scowl, he said, "What are you talking about? That's Zangetsu," He pointed to the old man standing on the other side of the room, then pointed to the part of his soul holding his zanpakuto. "You're a hollow,"

Warbled laughter filled the small space as the hollow tilted his head back, his mouth agape.

"What?"

"Ichigo..." Zangetsu drawled out the name slowly.

Ichigo gladly turned toward his zanpakuto. "What is it, oussan?"

"That... _is _Zangetsu,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

"Oh... So my words haven't affected you? Well, I wasn't even trying yet, shinigami-chan,"

Rukia made a move before her mind could become fuzzy again with whatever powers the woman was using. She punctured the hard ground four times to create a small semicircle in front of her. She raised her pure white zanpakuto to the curious Quincy, particles of ice rising from the ground. "_Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"_

A wave of ice flowed from her sword tip towards the Quincy woman. She quickly jumped to the side to avoid being frozen.

"That zanpakuto of yours is pretty nifty, but I don't suppose you could make the ice flow faster? This'll be an easy game if you don't try,"

Wave after wave came at the woman, but she was nimble on her feet, able to dodge every single strike. When she was close to Rukia, Rukia used shunpo and slashed at the woman.

"Oi! Are you sure you're a fukutaicho?" The Quincy questioned. The heavy feeling in Rukia's mind returned, strengthening as the Quincy pushed her blade into Rukia's own. She struggled under the force, only able to use one hand to grip her blade.

"Yes. Who are you? What is this ability you're using?" Rukia asked in a hard voice, trying to twist the Quincy's blade out of her grip.

"Me?" The woman asked. "I'm Gabrielli Berenice, Sternritter Q: The Question. Might I ask you name, shinigami-chan- before I kill you?"

_Sternritter... it must be a part of the Wandenreich Ichigo told me about... most likely a division full of more powerful Quincies if I compare their reiatsu. _Rukia made eye contact with the grinning Quincy. "Kuchiki Rukia, fukutaicho of the 13th division,"

Rukia shunpo-ed to the side, calling "_San no mai, Shirafune!" _Ice from the atmosphere collected on her blade, making it grow longer and slice through Berenice's side. _Finally..._

"Hmph," To Rukia's surprise, the Quincy only chuckled. "Were you even aiming? You hardly cut me; that wimpy zanpakuto of yours mostly sliced my coat, thank you very much,"

Rukia's eyes widened, realizing that it was true. There had been hardly any resistance when her blade went through the Quincy. She debated using a kidou as the ice broke, but the Quincy was already by her side, swinging her blade.

As it narrowly missed Rukia's nose, she felt the feeling of doubt emanating from its surface. _The Question... I'm not sure how the Quincies have these abilities, but this one is able to make her opponent question their abilities. It explained my sudden thoughts about my unworthiness, and why my mind felt foggy. Well, now that I know about it, maybe I can avoid it better._

"You can't do anything, shinigami-chan," The Quincy called, slashing back and forth at Rukia as she dodged from side to side. "You're worthless, untalented, unfit-"

The raven-haired shinigami tried to block out her words, but it seemed the insults the Quincy called out were the only things registering in Rukia's mind. _Stop it! _She told herself.

All her thoughts of self-doubt suddenly disappeared. In fact, her brain seemed unable to form any thought as she looked down at her stomach. A light blue blade protruded out of her middle, blood already leaking from the wound.

"- and defeated, kid," Without a warning, Berenice pulled the blade back, causing Rukia to cough up blood and fall to her knees.

_Defeated. You don't stand a chance. You never did. From the beginning, you were given a place in the Gotei-13 due to your nobility. That's all it's ever been; everything handed to you, your friends always saving you. What's changed now? What makes you think you have a chance?_

_ Because... _Her thoughts suddenly changed to her own, free of the manipulation the woman had. _Because I have to protect those friends. I have to protect... Ichigo!_

The Quincy loomed above her, raising the blood-soaked blade in her right hand.

Rukia knew there was only one option now. She'd been training for the last 17 months for a moment like this. Without looking up, she curled her one useable hand tighter around the handle of her zanpakuto.

"_Ban-_"

A sudden whirlwind of cherry blossoms surrounded the area. The two women looked up, one in confusion and the other in joy, anticipation, and amazement.

"Scatter, _Senbonzakura,_"

Rukia blinked, her fuzzy gaze focusing on the two men standing only few yards away.

"Renji... Nii-sama,"

~~~~~ 魂の実施形態 ~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry that it was so short this time!


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